Amazing Grace
by Flames101
Summary: When Hotch meets Maizy Tibbs, Jack's teacher, he's instantly drawn to her. But for obvious reasons he fights the attraction. When Maizy begins to develop a relationship with Reid, Hotch has to decide if he should continue to back off or follow his heart. Ch17 is new! Hotch/fOC/Reid Triangle. A fuller, more detailed Summary at the top of chapter 1.
1. Chapter 1

**Full Summary:** _When Aaron Hotchner meets Maizy Tibbs for the first time she is definitely not what he'd expected. He soon finds himself attracted to Jack's young school teacher and struggles against developing a relationship that he considers inappropriate with her. Everything he learns about Maizy only intrigues him further; from her own tragic past to the difficulty she's had garnering and maintaining meaningful relationships with the opposite sex. When the unlikely news of Maizy and Reid's developing relationship hits his ears he has to decide if he's willing to back off or go for the woman who intrigues him. Hotch/OC/Reid_

**A/N:** Hey! So this is my entry for the OC challenge over at Chit Chat on Author's Corner. This isn't the first time I've written an original character before, but it is the first time where they will be a main character. I hope you'll all let me know how you like Jack's elementary school teacher, Maizy Tibbs. Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. It all belongs to CBS, except for Maizy who belongs to the forum, I guess. Lol.

**Chapter 1:**

* * *

Aaron Hotchner stared at the clock on his wall in disbelief. Three pm. When had it gotten so late?

_Three? Seriously?_ he thought, annoyed at himself.

He glared at the pile of work on his desk; he hadn't even made a dent in it and he'd so wanted to finish it today. Yeah, that was not happening.

Hotch stood up letting out a defeated sigh. He grabbed his briefcase and began to slide in some take-home documents for some 'light' bedtime reading, that's when Rossi suddenly poked his head in the open doorway.

"Whoa," he exclaimed in surprise. "Has hell frozen over?"

Hotch shot his old friend a wry look. "Funny, Dave."

Rossi took this as invitation to come inside. Hotch tried his best to ignore him. "No, really, you're actually leaving? You know it's only three o'clock, right?"

He let out a long-suffering sigh. "I've got a meeting at four-thirty."

Rossi grinned. "Please tell me 'meeting' is code word for a hot date with Beth."

Hotch couldn't help the grimace at the woman's name. He glanced at his watch, wondering if he should say anything, if he even had enough time for the questions that would surely come.

"Dave, Beth and I ended things months ago," Hotch stated briefly, snapping his case shut.

"What?" his friend exclaimed loudly. His eyes practically bulged out in shock.

"Look, I don't have time to go into detail, so let's just say that running was about all we had in common," Hotch answered, coming around his desk. "Now, I've got to go, Jack's teacher wants me to meet with her and I don't know why…"

"_She_ wants to meet you?" Rossi emphasized, brightening at the prospect of another female in his life. "What's her name?"

"Mrs. Tibbs," Hotch offered.

Rossi actually cringed at the name. "Name even sounds like an old matronly elementary school teacher…"

Hotch chuckled. "Jack says she's my age."

Rossi shot him a raised eyebrow. "Already fishing, I see."

"Funny, you should become a comedian, you know that." He shrugged his shoulders in answer. "I _just_ asked Jack what his new teacher was like, that's all."

Rossi nodded his head, losing interest fast. "Well you should go…" And he started to turn to go.

Hotch stared after his best friend, wondering why the man had never been diagnosed with ADD. "Wait," Hotch halted him. "You needed something?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Rossi began, looking sheepish. "I'm placing bets."

Hotch frowned. "On?"

"When Reid will blow up at Morgan next," Rossi added, shrugging his shoulders. "They're at it again."

Hotch didn't cover his sigh. Sometimes it felt like Jack wasn't his only child.

* * *

Hotch checked his watch as he approached the open doorway to Jack's fourth grade classroom; it was four-thirty-five. He was a little late but not too late.

He still had no idea what Mrs. Tibbs could possibly want to see him about. It wasn't that far in to the new school year; parent-teacher interviews were officially a month off. His biggest worry was that Jack was possibly being bullied again.

He stepped into the quiet classroom, quickly taking in the colorful décor of the welcoming room. He gave it a quick scan for the teacher and found her in the farthest corner of the room in the carpeted area. She had her back to him, standing on a stepladder, attempting to post some artwork to the wall. From what he could see, she was a petite woman with long wavy, dark hair.

"Excuse me," Hotch spoke softly, not wanting to spook the woman; still she gave a little jump. "I'm looking for Mrs. Tibbs?"

The woman climbed down and turned to face him. She had what he could only describe as a brilliant smile on her face that sparkled in her large brown eyes. _This can't be Mrs. Tibbs,_ was his instant thought. She was easily half his age, definitely not the woman Jack had described. _Must be her assistant…_

"You found her," she contradicted his thoughts. She extended her right hand and said, "Maizy Tibbs, it's nice to meet you Mr. Hotchner."

"But, you're so y—" he caught himself quickly, shutting his mouth abruptly.

"Young?" she finished, laughing heartily. "Don't worry Mr. Hotchner, I'm older than I look _and_ qualified to teach."

Hotch looked down in the vicinity of his shoes. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, aware of his suddenly hot face. He blamed Rossi completely for his lack of manners; the man had put it in his head that Jack's teacher couldn't be anything but older.

She offered him a smile, gesturing for him to take a seat at one of the kids' desks. "Don't worry about it. There's a reason why I switched from teaching high school to elementary…"

His mind was hazy; he stared at her blankly, not understanding. Hotch had no idea what was wrong with him.

"I was tired of being mistaken for a student," she explained slowly.

"Oh," he managed to get out. "So… I take it it's not Mrs., either?"

She shook her head. 'The kids add the extra suffix when speaking quickly, it's just Miss."

He nodded dumbly.

"Why don't we sit down, Mr. Hotchner?" she said kindly.

He was still standing he just noticed and quickly took the seat. She took the seat across from him smiling at his obvious discomfort, hoping to ease his embarrassment.

"Aaron," he blurted out.

She nodded. "Aaron," she echoed.

He managed to smile back at her, feeling extra pleased to hear his name come from her parted lips. And then he was silently cursing Rossi for putting such inappropriate thoughts in his head.

"Let me just start off by saying what a pleasure it is having Jack in my class. A more polite student I could not find," Miss Tibbs praised.

He beamed proudly at the fact that his son's manners were showing through. But, that couldn't possibly be the reason why she'd asked to meet with him.

"Why do I feel a 'but' coming?" he asked, frowning.

"No, no but's. He's a great kid. A model student," she assured. "The reason I called you isn't about Jack's behavior… I called to discuss Jack's struggles in math."

"Math?" he repeated, not able to hold back the disdainful tone it came out in. He couldn't help it, he hated math. It was easily his least favorite subject of all time.

She nodded. "Jack seems to be having some difficulties making connections with certain mathematical concepts… I've taken a look at his file, specifically previous report cards and I can see it's a recurring theme."

"He doesn't enjoy math," Hotch let her know.

She chuckled lightly. "I can see it runs in the family…" He opened his mouth to say something to the contrary, but she held up a hand. "It's all right, it's understandable. It also shows me where Jack is coming from. Everyone has a least favorite subject. Believe it or not, I'm not a huge fan of PE."

His eyes instantly trailed over her body. She was skinny without losing any of her curves. He didn't know if he could believe her, she was obviously in shape.

His eyes re-met hers and he could see them twinkling in amusement; he wondered what else he could do to embarrass himself. Thank God he didn't bring Jack to this meeting.

"Jack's like or dislike of the subject begins now and will dictate how he feels about math in the future and even what careers he may choose. I think we need to get to the root of the problem…"

"Which is?"

Hotch was surprised when Miss. Tibbs let out a sigh; it was the first time she'd frowned since he'd arrived. "I would like to have Jack assessed for a learning disability."

"What?" Hotch exclaimed sharply.

Miss. Tibbs held up her hands again, urging him to wait. He settled down, wondering what she could possibly be suggesting. There was nothing wrong with his perfect angel of a son and to have her even suggesting it… well, he was seriously wondering if he'd misjudged her.

"Mr. Hotchner—" she started.

"Aaron," he automatically corrected.

"Aaron," she revised. "I am only qualified to teach your son not diagnose him. But, as a teacher I am trained to catch certain warning signs of something going beyond just not getting it," she explained. "Jack is an exceptional student, otherwise. I only want to see him succeed to his fullest potential. If there is a LD in play, knowing will only further help me help Jack."

He frowned, understanding what she was trying to tell him. But understanding and accepting it were two different things.

"Listen, I understand, having a LD feels like you're labeling your son," Miss. Tibbs went on. "I get that, but please know that it's not to hinder or hurt Jack in anyway. It's only to help understand why he's struggling. And if we know why, we can adjust and help Jack in different ways."

Hotch let out a sigh, still not sure. "What would this entail?"

"I'd speak with Mrs. Jones, the school principal; she'll set up a few meetings with our school psychologist—"

"Psychologist?" Hotch interrupted, worried instantly.

"The psychologist will be the person qualified to assess whether or not Jack has a LD. The standard procedure is to administer a few tests. Then the results are discussed with you and, of course, I'll be there too."

"I see," Hotch replied slowly.

"Again, Mr—Aaron," she started. "This isn't something that will reflect negatively on Jack. He's a great student. With my help he's been able to keep up, but I think knowing if there are extenuating circumstances will benefit your son."

He nodded in understanding; he could clearly see that Miss. Tibbs cared about the wellbeing of his son. They really lucked out in the teacher department this year.

"Is there anything I can do in the meantime?" Hotch asked eagerly.

She nodded. "A tutor who can work with Jack once or twice a week would help. I, of course, will continue to help Jack in the classroom," she offered.

"Can't you just help Jack outside of school," Hotch wondered out loud. "It's obvious you care about him… and I'd pay you."

She gave him a gentle smile, shaking her head. "It's against board policy for a teacher to tutor their own student and accept payment for it. As a rule teachers are allowed to tutor but only students at a different school," she explained. "Here's our school list of approved tutors."

She handed him a list with at least ten different names on it. He couldn't help the disappointment he felt, but could understand her not wanting to go against the rules.

"Thank you, Miss Tibbs," he said, folding up the paper.

"Maizy," she said quickly.

He smiled. "Maizy," he repeated.

She stood up, declaring the meeting over. "I'll be in touch, Aaron. We'll try to set up a meeting with the psychologist in the next week or so and hopefully we'll see if there's anything to find."

He nodded. "Thanks, I appreciate the time and thought you're putting into Jack's education."

"Jack is a special boy," she complimented. "It's easy to see where he gets his caring and dedication from."

Hotch nodded, smiling. "He's my world."

She stepped closer to him, placing a hand on his arm, "It was nice meeting you, Aaron."

He stared down at her small hand on his arm and tried to contain the pleasure he felt at the simple touch. "Likewise."

* * *

Well that's it for this first chapter. I hope you enjoyed and I would love to hear what you think about it and the original character Maizy Tibbs. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hi again! Thought I'd update this one again before the weekend is over. Didn't get much response to the first chapter which is understandable since it is an OC driven story, still I hope you'll give it a chance and let me know what you think. Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 2:**

* * *

"It's been awhile since you've been home," Maizy listened to her aunt, Amanda Jenkins, say wistfully over the phone.

Maizy cringed at her aunt's tone. But she couldn't counter what she said, either. It _had_ been awhile since she'd set foot in her small hometown of Berryville, Virginia. Yet could her aunt blame her for not thinking of the place where she'd lost her mother as her home?

"I know," she offered her aunt as she picked up a peach to test its ripeness. Why she picked up the call while grocery shopping, she had no idea.

"It's your birthday this Wednesday," Amanda reminded her.

She chuckled. "Aunt Amanda, I think I know when my own birthday is…"

"Not that one year—"

Maizy frowned. Why was she bringing that up? "Well, excuse me for not wanting to celebrate my sixteenth when—"

She stopped talking abruptly. She did not want to go there, not now, not in such a public place.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," her aunt amended. "I just miss you is all…"

Maizy blew out a sigh. "I miss you too… Look, I'll try to come over for Thanksgiving, all right?"

"All right," she replied excitedly. Maizy knew her 'try' was already taken as she'd most definitely be there. "Have a happy birthday. Try to go out and have some fun."

"I will," she finished, trying to keep the grudging tone out of her voice.

She hung up quickly, eager to get her shopping done and to get back home.

"Hey," a voice startled her from behind.

Maizy whirled around to see Jack Hotchner's father, Aaron, standing by the peaches as well. A smile quickly overtook her face. He looked different then he had a few days ago. Then, he had been clad in a business suit, today he was in jeans and a grey t-shirt. She decided he looked good either way.

He was smiling at her. It surprised her; after she'd suggested that Jack might have a learning disability she thought she'd be on his not his most favorite person in the world list.

"Aaron, hi," she greeted. "You shop here often?" She'd never seen him at the small, local market store.

He shook his head. "No, I was just dropping Jack off at his aunt's when I remembered I needed a few things."

She glanced in his basket. "Mmm," she murmured. "Good choice. You can't go wrong with their pastrami…"

He chuckled lightly. "Good to know."

She liked the way his face softened when he smiled and laughed… She mentally shook herself out of that thought. Aaron Hotchner was too good looking for her own good. She realized she had to watch herself.

"Happy Birthday," Aaron blurted quickly.

"Oh," she said in surprise, wondering how he knew and then realizing. "You heard me on the phone."

He nodded. "I saw you, so I thought I'd say hi. I waited until you were off the phone…"

He trailed off and she could see the question on his face as he took in the features of her face intently.

"I'll be turning twenty-seven," she put forth.

"Oh, uh…" Aaron stuttered out. He was blushing again. She had a feeling that Aaron Hotchner didn't blush all that often. She wondered what it was about her that had him so obviously out of his comfort zone.

She put her hand on his forearm, hoping to settle his uneasy nerves. But he just stared down at her hand as if her touch had scolded him. She removed it and decided to move the conversation back to mutual territory.

"So, have you decided on a tutor yet?" she asked moving on to the bananas.

He grimaced, following her. "No, my job took me out of town…"

"Oh yes," she acknowledged. "That's right, you're an FBI agent. Must be exciting."

She remembered Jack telling her one recess about his father's job that took him out of town a lot. She remembered thinking it was a shame he wasn't around more. But it was clear to her now that Aaron loved his son greatly.

"Jack talks," she offered when he looked at her quizzically.

He frowned briefly and then simply said. "It has its moments."

She nodded. And then they stood there awkwardly. "Well…" she began. "I've got to hit the frozen foods section…"

Looking into his own basket, he nodded. "I guess I'm done here…" he stated awkwardly. "It was nice seeing you, Maizy."

"Same, Aaron," she replied, giving him a bright smile.

She gave him a little wave of her hand and turned away. It wasn't until she'd rounded an aisle that she realized she'd been holding her breath. She had no idea why Aaron Hotchner affected her this way.

* * *

Hotch watched her quickly retreat, mentally kicking himself. Could he be any more awkward around the young woman?

When he'd hit the produce section and seen Maizy Tibbs standing there, looking beautiful in a knee length black skirt and light blue top, he hadn't been able to resist, he'd instantly wanted to say hi.

Sighing, he headed towards the checkout. Saying 'hi' had been the easy part, everything that came after had been the painful part. He had no idea what it was about Maizy Tibbs that turned him upside down. Maybe it was her easy smile or the fact that Jack adored his new teacher. He wasn't sure.

After his meeting with her a few days ago, he'd come home and had a lengthy discussion with Jack about school and Maizy's name came up a lot. She was Jack's favorite teacher of all time. Hotch had asked Jack what made Miss. Tibbs his favorite and he'd said it was because she didn't talk to him like he was a baby and that she listened to him.

Hotch was glad his son had found another person he felt he could talk to. He would have been worried if Maizy didn't seem like she genuinely cared. But because she did he couldn't begrudge Jack his new confidant.

Hotch frowned suddenly. He wondered if she knew about Hailey. If that kind of info would be I Jack's file? He pondered over whether he should tell her, if it would even make a difference to Jack's education? Jack seemed fine these days, no more nightmares. But he still had moments where he remembered and Hotch knew that his son was sad in those moments.

Hotch was sure his son wouldn't want any special treatment but it would probably be a good idea for her to know, at least, that Hailey had passed on, just so she'd know where Jack was coming from.

Standing in line, he caught sight of her small frame moving from one aisle to another. As if she knew she was being watched she looked up and her dark eyes met his own. She gave him a grin and a wave and a sudden feeling of… warmth shot through him.

He turned back to the cash register when she turned back to shopping. He had to convince his heart to slow down.

_Crap!_ he suddenly realized. _I've got a crush on my son's teacher._

* * *

Maizy arrived home an hour later, practically glowing from her brief encounter at the market. She didn't want to think too hard on why just a few words spoken to the tall, dark, and handsome Aaron Hotchner put a smile on her face.

She entered her little, modest home, settling the grocery bags on the floor to punch in the security code into the wall panel. Though she was a teacher of a mediocre income, she was sure glad she didn't have to skimp out on her safety. After her mother was killed she'd inherited a small sum of money. That, along with the money she received after her father's death a few years back in Iraq, kept her living in the good neighborhood with an armed security system. She'd trade all the money she had in the world to have either of her parents back, though.

She let out a sigh, not wanting to think about her parents any longer. She grabbed the bags and walked the short corridor straight into her kitchen. Without allowing herself any deep thoughts she went about the task of putting away the groceries in the small, country style kitchen. Once she was done, she decided it was time to go upstairs.

The bedroom was her destination. Her Saturday afternoon routine was to curl up in bed with a good book and lose herself in a world of fantasy. She grabbed her current book, Firelight by Sophie Jordan, off her nightstand and settled herself back on her pillows.

After several minutes of having the book open with no progress she let the book fall shut onto her chest. She just couldn't seem to get into the world of interchangeable dragon-human's. That's because she could not seem to get her mind to budge off of a certain FBI agent.

It was ridiculous really. Why she found herself so intrigued by the older man, she had no idea. It wasn't like she hadn't met kind-hearted single fathers before. But there was something about Aaron that she could not put her finger on. Something special. She let out breath, blowing at the bangs that fell into her eyes. Maizy wondered if there was a board policy on whether or not it was against the rules to date the parents of their student's.

_Whoa,_ her brain screamed. _Where did that come from?_

She'd succeeded in shocking herself. Was she actually thinking about dating Aaron? She, a loner through and through, who hadn't been on a date in a number of years.

"Who am I kidding?" she blurted out.

She was too chicken to ask him out. And if by some miracle he decided to ask her she'd probably turn him down and not just because dating him would probably be frowned upon. She just didn't do it, date, get close to people. It wasn't who she was, even if it was who she wanted to be.

Maizy let out a sigh. She flipped onto her side only to have the picture of her ten year old self, with her dad and mom at Disney World suddenly in her face. She picked up the frame, tracing a finger over the happy faces. Man, how she longed for those happier times, when her parents were still together, still happy, still alive. She missed them desperately.

She smiled as she remembered one of her last family moments together. Her father was leaving on his first tour abroad.

* * *

_Maizy didn't understand why her daddy had to go. Who was going to show her how to ride a bike? Or go fishing with her on the weekend?_

"_Aww, don't look at me like that, Amazing Grace," her father pleaded._

_She couldn't help but smile at his full usage of her nickname. For as long as she could remember her daddy had called her Amazing Grace, eventually shortening it to Mazing and finally Maizy. She couldn't ever remember him just calling her by her actual name, Grace. She'd asked him once why he thought she was amazing, and he'd answered her by saying she was his miracle child and that's all._

_Maizy crossed her arms, forcing herself to pout. "I don't' want you to go." And then she was hugging him fiercely._

"_Maizy," he murmured, hugging her back just as tightly. "The sooner I go, the sooner I come back…"_

* * *

Maizy smiled fondly at the memory. Her father said the same thing to her each time he'd left, until one year, a few years back, he hadn't come back.

She wiped at her suddenly blurry eyes. God she missed him. Her father, along with her aunt Amanda, had helped her get through some tough times. She didn't know what would have happened to her if she hadn't had the two of them.

She shook her head. "No more sad thoughts, Maizy," she scolded herself.

She decided she needed something a little more than a book to distract her from her reminiscing thoughts. So she headed back downstairs to watch the many recorded shows she had on her PVR that she couldn't watch during the week. Mindless drivel is what she needed at the moment.

* * *

Well that's it for this chapter. I hope you're all enjoying this and the character of Maizy Tibbs. I got the idea for Maizy's name from Miley Cyrus actually (her name isn't really Miley, her dad called her Smiley and eventually it became Miley).

Just wanted to say a quick thanks to my one reviewer **Ren Kayashima.** Thanks for taking the time to read and being my first reviewer! :)

Don't know when I'll update next. Hopefully by next weekend. See ya then.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Hey all. Sorry for the wait. I don't want to say it but I've had some major writers block for the past week, or maybe it's job-stress-block. Whatever it is, it means that my updates aren't coming very easily to me. So, I hope you guys can bear with me for the next two months until I'm definitely stress free for two months. Anyways, here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. It's all CBS's, expect for Maizy; her creation is that of the CCOAC forum.

**Chapter 3:**

* * *

Hotch picked up the sheet of paper Maizy had given him, ready to call the first number on his list. He couldn't believe he'd held off this long; it'd been over a week since his first initial meeting with Jack's teacher.

Just as he was about to dial the first number, though, a knock came at his door. He let out a sigh. _Figures…_ he thought, irritated.

"Come in," he called out, trying to hide his exasperation.

A sheepish looking Reid poked his head inside. "Hey Hotch, got a sec?"

He nodded his head abruptly, hoping this would be quick. He'd put off his son's needs long enough now. "What is it, Reid?"

"It's uh… Morgan…"

Hotch let out another sigh. Ever since Rossi had informed him that Morgan and Reid had resumed their 'war' he knew this conversation was coming.

"What about Morgan?" he asked slowly.

"I may or may not have done something pretty irreversible to his coin collection… using hydrochloric acid…"

"_Reid_," Hotch scolded in disbelief.

The young doctor held up a finger. "In my defense, Morgan did decide to stamp each of my first edition Charles Dickens novels with his desk-stamp."

Hotch groaned. The two younger agent's prank wars had obviously gone too far. "All right… I think this has gone on long enough. I want to see you and Morgan in my office first thing tomorrow morning."

"All right," Reid replied, clearly pouting.

"And no more experiments with hydrochloric acid. Remember what happened last time? You burned a hole straight through your desk."

Hotch kept the smile off his face. It wouldn't do for him to know his amusement at their antics. He was their stoic unit chief and he needed it to remain that way, at least for most of the time.

Reid grimaced. "I still have the desk, remember… You said budget cuts meant that I couldn't have a new one."

_Oh yeah…_ That's what he'd said, but really he'd hoped keeping the desk would help the young man learn from his mistakes. _Obviously not…_

"I'll see if I can find any extra dollars in the budget," Hotch offered. "Anything else?"

The genius shook his head. He stood up to go, but reached for something on Hotch's desk instead.

"You're looking for a tutor for Jack?" he questioned quickly.

Hotch nodded his head warily. He'd only spoken to Rossi about Jack's impending tests.

"Yeah," Hotch replied, deciding to keep it simple. "He's having trouble in math."

"I can tutor him, Hotch," he offered eagerly.

Hotch frowned. "I don't know…"

"Come on. How many degrees do I have?" Reid countered. "I'm more than qualified to teach ninth grade math."

"Jack is in the fourth grade, Reid."

"Oh," Reid replied, confusion on his face. "Well, I'm sure I can help with that, too."

He stared at his colleague and friend, weighing the pros and cons. Reid _was_ a genius and Jack wouldn't have to get to know another stranger, Jack knew Reid. Liked him. Plus, he knew his son would always be safe with the young doctor.

"All right," Hotch agreed slowly. "But you've got to meet with Jack's teacher first, so she can get you up to speed."

"Great!" Reid exclaimed.

* * *

Maizy let out an anxious sigh as she stepped inside the school's staffroom. It was lunchtime, and instead of spending it in her classroom, eating her lunch while working, she was there, attempting to try the socializing thing amongst her colleagues.

"Maizy," a voice called out. "Get your butt over here."

She glanced at Bree, her closest friend both inside and outside the school. Her short, blonde-haired, brown-eyed, spitfire of a friend was beckoning her over. It was because of her constant encouragement—more like nagging—that she was there.

Looking around the room, she saw the looks on the few staff members' faces: curious wonder. This was probably only the third time she'd entered the smallish room since the beginning of the school year. It wasn't because she didn't like her colleagues. No, she had a nice time talking to them one on one. It was the big group setting she found awkward and avoided like the plague.

Maizy took the seat right next to Bree, even though there were more than enough chairs around the big table. Bree gave her an annoyed look; her friend knew she was about to use her as a buffer. Could she blame her? She was shy and quiet and her friend liked to talk; Bree was the complete opposite to Maizy. She sometimes mused that that was why they got along so well.

"So, what are the weekend plans?" Bree asked loudly to the bunch of teachers. "Maizy?"

Caught off guard, she shot her friend a raised eyebrow, not wanting to glare outright. Three pairs of eyes landed on her and Maizy just stared back at them: Rachel Wilson, Josh Magnus, and Leslie Stewart all fellow teachers.

"Umm… I'm going to spend some time um… reading," Maizy answered slowly.

Everyone nodded politely and then went on to say what they were doing. She lost them pretty quickly. She really had nothing else planned, unfortunately. Bree shot her a look. _What?_ Did she want her to make something up?

Maizy spent the rest of the lunch hour pretty much in silence. It was horribly awkward. When the warning bell finally rang she stood up quickly, ready to make her escape. Bree followed her.

"What?" Maizy said annoyed. Why was she following her?

"I'm in your class next period, remember?" her friend reminded her.

She held back her groan. Bree was an educational assistant. She worked one on one with struggling students. She'd forgotten that today was her day to work with Jack Hotchner and some other students who were struggling with math.

"Ok," she answered.

They reached her class in silence, but she could feel her friend's eagerness to say something.

The students hadn't come back yet. She ignored Bree and went to her desk to re-check her lesson plan for that afternoon.

"Maizy!" Bree said in exasperation.

She turned around and looked at her friend cautiously.

"You've got to get out some more. I'm afraid you're becoming a hermit," Bree implored. "I mean that in the best way possible."

Maizy let out a sigh. "I'm trying, really."

"Are you? I'm not sure you are," Bree said worriedly. "Look, I know you've gone through something—"

"Bree, not now, the kids are coming back," she cut her off firmly.

"We've got time for me to say that you can't put your life on hold for much longer, hun."

Maizy was saved from replying when Jack ran into the class.

"Mrs. Tibbs," he said excitedly. "We saw… we saw… a cat on the playground!"

Maizy smiled at the little boy. "Really?" she asked. "Was it playing on the slide or the swings?"

Jack laughed. "That's silly. Cat's don't play on the swings."

"Come on, Jack." Bree ushered the little boy. "Let's go hang up your jacket; we've got some math to work on."

Jack's face fell. Maizy waved at the little boy. He was so eager to learn new things and was genuinely enthusiastic about almost everything. It was a shame that it wasn't the same in mathematics. She'd have to call his father and see if he'd gotten Jack a tutor yet.

* * *

_Crap!_ Hotch mentally swore. Still sitting in his office, he'd glanced over at the clock to see that it was already five in the evening. Not only had he intended on leaving at a reasonable time, but he had also wanted to touch base with Jack's teacher to set up a meeting between the two of them, plus Reid. And now he'd probably missed her.

He let out a sigh. He picked up the receiver off his desk anyway. He'd just have to leave her a message for her to phone him back. He dialed the school's number and then the class's extension. He waited a few short rings when the other end clicked to life.

"Hello?"

He waited a minute for the rest of the message to play. But after a pause that was clearly not going to be filled by a machine he replied, "Hello?"

"Yes, hi, this is Maizy Tibbs, can I help you?"

"You're still there?" he blurted out without thinking.

He frowned as he wondered why she was still at work on a Friday night, not really processing that he was in the same boat as well.

"Mr… Hotchner?" she said tentatively.

"Aaron," he replied automatically.

He heard her chuckle lightly. "How are you, Aaron?" she asked pleasantly.

Her light, friendly tone actually had him grinning. "I'm fine. I hope you're doing well, too."

"Oh, I am," she assured. "To answer your earlier question, I'm working on report card marks; they're due in a week. Just wanted to make sure I'm all ready."

He nodded his head and then realized she couldn't see. "So… I hope you had a happy birthday."

Hotch didn't know why he was making small talk instead of getting right down to business. But it felt good to exchange like this. Normal, even. And God knew he needed some normal in his life.

He heard her groan on the other end. "My friend's taking me out this weekend," she explained.

"That could be fun," he mused; he wondered why the prospect of going out didn't appeal to her.

"Not with Bree's usual outings," she offered. She paused briefly and then plowed ahead, "I'm sorry, you probably didn't call to hear about my weekend plans. I'm assuming you're calling about Jack."

He let out a mental sigh. He really didn't mind talking about her or her plans. From the brief conversations they'd had so far, he really enjoyed just talking to her. And that was what troubled him. Maybe he needed to take a step away from Maizy Tibbs.

"I've talked with Mrs. Jones, she's scheduled the meeting with the psychologist for next Friday," Maizy let him know. "You're welcome to come at the end of the day. We can discuss with the psychologist what they've found."

"Sure, I'll be there," Hotch agreed. "I also wanted to see if you're free sometime this week."

"Free?" she questioned; he couldn't help but notice her voice rose in pitch.

"Umm…" he started awkwardly. "I mean after school… I mean… I've found a tutor. I was hoping you could meet with him, get him up to speed. Let him know what to focus on."

"Oh… yeah," she said slowly. "Um… yes, I'm free… Tuesday after school all right?"

"That's fine."

"All right…"

"Maizy—"

"Aaron—"

They both stopped abruptly after attempting to start at the same time. After a second's pause they both shared a nervous laugh.

"Go ahead, Aaron," she allowed.

"Oh, I was just going to say have fun this weekend, whatever you do."

He could hear the smile in her voice when she replied. "I'll try. Have a good night, Aaron."

* * *

Well that's it for this one. Hope you enjoyed. And I hope you'll let me know what you think. Thanks!

Thanks to those who read and reviewed the last chapter: **LaLa-036; Vaughn Tyler; nebula2 **_(thanks for the great review! I am definitely taking some of your suggestions and putting them to use);_ **Ren Kayashima **_(Thanks so much for reviewing. I'm glad you like the Maizy character.); _and** Steph**.

I'll try to update soon.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Hey all! Back with another update. Just wanted to take a second and thank everyone who's been reading. You guys are awesome!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 4:**

* * *

Maizy attempted to contain her groan. As it were, the scowl on her face was inevitable. Was she really sitting there, in some random bar of all places? Maizy looked over her shoulder at her friend; Bree was laughing it up with two random guys she'd met in the bar they were currently at.

Bree's idea of a fun birthday outing was bar-hopping. It was like her friend didn't even know her. Or she did know her and she was just trying her hardest to get her out of her shell. Either way, she could think of a less nerve-wracking way to spend her Saturday night. At home, finishing her book was one.

She blew out a sigh. Maizy knew she probably wasn't the most normal twenty-seven year old in the world. And she was usually content with who she was. But sometimes… on nights like these… she had to ask herself, just what was wrong with doing the outgoing thing once in a while?

_Look where being outgoing got you when you were sixteen…_ a dark voice in her head chided her.

This time she actually did groan, earning her a strange look from the bartender. She mentally swatted at the voice. It had taken her a long time to realize that what had happened so long ago had not been her fault. She did not need doubts forming in her head eleven years later.

"Maizy!" Bree called out.

She looked for her friend, startled, to find the blonde near the dart boards, flanked by the two young men.

"Get over here," she demanded.

The way she saw it, she had two choices, ignore her friend blatantly and earn her wrath, or just give in. One of the two men, the taller, blonde one, with the too bright green eyes, was watching her curiously. Maizy swallowed down her sense of trepidation. She decided giving in was probably the only way this night could end fast.

She shuffled her feet over to the three. Bree shot her a triumphant look on arrival that she proceeded to ignore.

"Great!" Bree exclaimed. "Maizy meet Mark," she indicated the shorter, dark haired man. He smiled politely, but was clearly not interested. "And this is Alex. Alex… meet Maizy."

Alex looked at her intently, a too big smile on his face. She was proud of herself when she didn't recoil from his extended hand he held out for her to shake.

"Nice to meet you, Maizy," he said eagerly.

"Yeah," she mumbled.

"We were going to play a game of darts," Bree explained. "Join us?"

The look on the education assistant's face told her that it was not a request, but a demand.

"Sure," she answered less than enthusiastically.

They proceeded to make teams; somehow Maizy ended up paired with Alex. He attempted to get a high five from her which she awkwardly returned.

Bree and Mark were up first. They racked up the points right away. Alex took his turn and did quite well, too. On Maizy's first shot she nearly went off the board, to the giggles and chuckles of the group. Trying again, she did a bit better, but still nowhere near as good as the other three. What could she say; she had never been a fan of sports.

"Uh oh," Alex spoke up, good-naturedly. "Looks like I'll have to give my partner a few tips."

His words were friendly enough, but Maizy barely contained her shudder. She had an idea of what his 'tips' might entail and she sure didn't like it.

After two more rounds of Maizy completely sucking, Alex seemed ready to initiate 'Operation Tips.'

"Here," he began, reaching for her shoulders. "If you were to stand like this—"

Maizy tried to concentrate on his words and not the feel of his hands on her shoulders. They felt uncomfortably hot. Her breath began to come out quick as Alex attempted to move her, bringing her closer to his body. His hand skimmed down her right arm, trying to position it. His chest was practically pressed into her back.

_Too close!_ her brain screamed.

"See, if you aim, like this—"

"I—I—" she stuttered, breath short. "I need to… go."

She jerked out of his hold, making a run for where she thought the washroom might be. She ignored her friend's calls and completely missed that there were another two sets of eyes watching her worriedly. She just needed to get out of there.

* * *

"Here."

Hotch looked up just in time to see Rossi thrust a drink into his face. He took it promptly for fear of it spilling all over him. "Thanks," he murmured absently.

Rossi had decided a drink outside of their offices would do them both some good. But if you asked Hotch, he was just fine; he knew his friend just wanted some company and he was happy to give it on a night when Jack was at Jessica's.

But at the moment he was preoccupied because he would swear up and down that the person sitting at the bar across the room, looking quite sullen, was none other than Maizy Tibbs.

_Was this what she'd meant by a birthday outing?_ he wondered to himself. If so, it did not look like she was enjoying it.

"What's with you?" Rossi broke his revere.

Startled, he looked at him to see that the man was eyeing him suspiciously. "Hmm… oh, nothing… nothing."

Dave raised an eyebrow at him, then to Hotch's horror he followed his earlier line of sight. Hotch held his breath, hoping the older agent wouldn't notice Maizy. But it was hard not to. She looked pretty as usual, dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a red t-shirt. But it wasn't what she was wearing or what she looked like that drew you in to her tonight. No. She just looked too… sad. And he, himself, had the strong urge to go over there and make her… happy.

_If only Rossi wasn't here…_

"She's pretty," Rossi approved. "You should go talk to her."

Hotch let out a groan.

"What? She does look young, but not too young," Rossi stated. "What's wrong with giving it a shot? If you won't I will."

"I know her!" Hotch blurted out quickly.

"You do?"

"Yeah… She's um… she's," he stuttered out. Talk about awkward. "She's…. Jack's teacher."

"_That's_ Mrs. Tibbs?" Rossi said in surprise.

Hotch frowned. "It's _Miss_, actually," he felt the need to correct, which earned him another look from his friend. "Look, I'm not going to say hi, all right… she's supposed to be celebrating her birthday."

They glanced back at Maizy. She had not moved an inch. "She's," Rossi started pointedly, "celebrating?"

Hotch grimaced. Well, she had said she'd probably not have that much fun. Still…

"Maizy!"

Hotch abruptly looked in the direction that her name was being called to see a small blonde woman surrounded by two guys beckoning the school teacher over.

"Well, looks like problem solved," Rossi added, taking a sip of his drink.

Hotch continued to frown as he watched a very reluctant looking Maizy trudge over to the trio. Something wasn't right. He sure couldn't claim to know Maizy, not after two meetings and a phone call, but he knew that the woman he saw across the room was not the same bubbly person he'd met.

"Aaron?" Rossi said concernedly.

Once again, startled out of his thoughts, he attempted to pry his attention away from the dark haired beauty.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

Rossi didn't say anything. And Hotch turned back to watch the group. It was quite apparent that Maizy wasn't comfortable; her body language said it all. She stood off from the group, leaning towards the woman who'd called her over. Her arms were crossed over her chest, as if attempting to protect herself. And as the seconds flew by she was becoming more and more uncomfortable.

"Maybe you _should_ go over there," Dave suggested.

Hotch nodded his head, but hesitated. He knew he was over thinking things. But, really, who was he to Maizy to butt in? He was only the father of one of her students, after all… But as one of the young men began to touch her, he could see, even from this distance, that she was in panic mode.

Just as he got out of his seat, taking two steps towards her, he heard Maizy practically shout, "I need to go!" And then she was running past him, not seeing him through her panicked haze.

"Maizy!" the blonde woman shouted.

She made to go after her, but Hotch stepped in her way. He glared down at the smallish woman.

"Let me go talk to her," he ordered her.

"Who are—" she began.

Rossi stepped in front of him, taking over, as he turned to go after the young teacher.

He had no idea what had just happened. But he sure hoped she was all right.

* * *

Maizy leaned against the wall of the small bathroom, taking deep, calming breaths. She couldn't believe she'd freaked out like that. It had been awhile since she'd felt that close to breaking. And she seriously thought she'd put it all past her. _Apparently not…_

She blew out a deep breath and pushed herself away from the wall. She made her way over to the sink. Splashing cold water on her face brought her back down to Earth. Alex hadn't been a bad guy. But the minute his hands had touched her flashes from a horrid night eleven years ago came to mind. She blamed it all on the fact that this was her birthday week. There was a reason why she didn't celebrate her birthday. Why couldn't people just leave her alone?

The door swung open a bit and Maizy looked around for a place to hide. She did not feel like facing Bree just yet.

"Maizy?"

She stood stalk still; she knew that voice and there was no way she could be hearing it now.

"Maizy?" it repeated. "Can I come in?"

"A—Aaron?" she stuttered out.

A second later, the door pushed open a little more and Aaron Hotchner stuck his head inside.

"Hi," he greeted slowly, concern written all over his face.

_Great,_ she thought, _no chance in acting completely normal, now._

"I'm fine," she blurted out quickly.

His mouth quirked upwards, not quite into a smile, but close enough. He pushed the door open wider, stepping inside. "Didn't think you weren't…" he assured. "I… uh… just saw you out there and thought I should uh… say hi…"

She stared at the man a moment, taking in his words. It was clear to her that he'd seen what had just happened and yet… he wasn't pressuring her for answers. She suddenly liked him all the more.

"I don't know what just happened," she once again spit out without thinking. Maizy had the sudden urge to cover her mouth with both hands. Here he was, giving her a chance to glance over it and she was still talking about it.

"I know," he said, voice gentle. He held out a hand towards her. "Why don't I take you home…"

She stared at his proffered hand. Maizy didn't get the same creeped out feeling she'd gotten when Alex had touched her. On the contrary, she really wanted to seize Aaron's hand and never let go. She didn't have time to ponder why that was and instead nodded her head once. Her hand landed in his right after. He gave her a smile, and she couldn't help but smile back, enjoying the warmness of his hand.

* * *

Hotch let out a small sigh of relief when she took his hand and didn't recoil from it. Judging by her actions tonight there had been the possibility that she would have. He hated profiling people he knew, family and friends, but it was a hard skill to turn off, and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that something had occurred in Maizy's life to cause tonight's reaction. But he would not press her for it, as he knew her friend would. What she needed at the moment was comfort, not pressure. And that's what he'd offer her.

He led the small woman out of the women's washroom; he enjoyed how her small hand felt encased by his larger one, a feeling he tried to push away. They reentered the bar to some stares, but for the most part everyone was minding their own business.

"Here, why don't we go say good night to your friend," he offered.

She gave him fearful look, but when he squeezed her hand in reassurance she looked better for it.

Her friend was being occupied by Dave. He seemed to be explaining to her who they were and why they'd barred her path to Maizy. When Dave caught sight of their approach his eyes instantaneously went to their entwined hands. His eyebrow rose in question. But Hotch gave him a small shake of his head in a 'not now' gesture.

"Bree," Maizy spoke the woman's name.

The blonde whirled around looking a mixture of worry, concern and exasperation. "Maizy, thank God! Are you all right?"

Maizy gave her a small nod.

"I'm taking her home," he spoke up, addressing both Rossi and Bree.

"Wait a sec," Bree protested. "Just who the heck are you?"

"Bree," the woman at his side spoke up, "This is Jack Hotchner's father, Aaron."

Her eyebrow rose in question. "Jack's dad?"

"Yes," Maizy replied simply.

Bree's brown eyes landed on her friend looking at her worriedly. "Are you sure you don't want me to drive you home?"

It was clear to Hotch that Bree was suspicious of him. Clearly, she had never heard of him before. And why would she, Maizy wouldn't be talking about him; he was just the father of one of her students, he reminded himself.

"I'm fine," she assured. "Aaron will take me home. You stay; have fun, all right…"

Bree frowned. "By myself?"

Rossi stepped between them. "Why don't we go grab a drink at the bar?" he suggested quickly. "Leave these two early birds to their night… David Rossi…" He introduced quickly, holding his hand out to the woman.

Hotch shot his friend a look and Dave just motioned with his other hand for them to go. Hotch had no idea what his friend was doing, but he was grateful for his interception of the woman. He'd also see that she'd make it home safely.

"All right… night, Maizy…" Bree said, voice a mixture of confusion and intrigue.

Hotch had the strong urge to chuckle right then; it seemed that Dave had inadvertently gotten himself an admirer. But instead of giving in to the urge, Hotch steered himself and Maizy out of the bar.

* * *

Well that's it. More to come soon, including the somewhat awkward car drive, and Maizy's first meeting with Reid.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I really enjoyed writing it.

Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing: **Super Sonic Death Turtle; nebula2** (_I'm glad you're enjoying, and I'm planning the Morgan/Hotch/Reid scene for the next chapter, I hope);_ **Anon** _(it's not a Hotch/Reid story; it's a triangle story between Hotch, Reid, and Maizy; sorry no action between the two males);_ **Fairytopia** _(thank you for your kind comments); _**EnlightenedElementalWarrior; and Vaughn Tyler.**

I hope you all will continue to let me know what you think. Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Hello. Sorry for the long wait. Been extremely busy lately with it being the end of the school year. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this latest installment, had a bit of writer's block with it, so not sure if it came through as well as I wanted it to. Hope you'll let me know what you think! Thanks!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 5: **

* * *

Hotch glanced over at his quiet passenger. He and Maizy were driving towards her house after their eventful night at the bar. He had been more than pleased to see her seemingly relax the minute her head had hit the headrest. It warmed him to know that she could trust him.

The ride so far had been silent, not uncomfortably so, but not quite tense free, either. Something had happened at the bar, something that revealed to him an important part of Maizy's character. He knew he didn't want to press her about it, but completely ignoring it, now that they were far away from the scene, seemed also wrong.

"Thank you," she suddenly broke the silence, though her voice was barely above a whisper.

He took his gaze off the road for a moment to see that she was watching him with her warm brown eyes. He held her gaze a moment more, a feeling passing between them, before he had to look away for fear of losing control of the car and more.

"You're welcome," he said, because brushing it off wouldn't have been right. He had been there for her when she needed him, he would not trivialize her feelings.

"I… I…" she began, stuttering out her uncertainty. "I… just lost it, I guess… He didn't do anything wrong—"

"He made you feel uncomfortable," Hotch denied; a man had to be more aware, to know when to back off. If the guy had been around when they'd left the washroom he most likely would have given him a piece of his mind.

She shook her head. "Not on purpose… I just…"

Maizy was struggling, he could see. He let his hand fall onto her forearm, hoping to comfort her. A tingle went up his spine. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her glance at his hand on her bare skin. And then she was catching his eye.

"You don't have to say more…" he stopped her, wanting to assure that his rescue did not come with conditions.

She nodded briefly, letting out a small sigh. Her hand on the opposite arm came to cover his own, giving him a pat that he enjoyed far too much. She gave him a shy smile and then let go. He lifted his own hand reluctantly and turned down her street.

"It's the white house over there," she stated, pointing a couple houses down the street.

He nodded and pulled up to the small house. He ducked his head so he could get a better look. It was small, one-story, but nice and well kept. Maizy had a small, green front yard that was fenced in. The grass seemed to be the extent of plant growth, though there was an empty flower bed. A sign stuck out of the dirt for a security company.

"Nice house," he commented.

She smiled. "Thanks, its home."

Hotch returned her smile. He so wanted to extend their time together that night, but he knew anything more than driving her home could be deemed inappropriate. As she turned towards the door, hand reaching for the door handle, he knew the night was coming to a close. His mind screamed for him to stop her.

"Well—" she began.

"Why don't I walk you to the door?" he suggested abruptly.

She didn't say anything in response, but just nodded her head, looking pleased.

They stepped out of the car, Hotch joining her on the sidewalk before gesturing for her to lead the way. Maizy pushed open the gate and began the short walk to her front door.

"So, how long have you lived here?" Hotch questioned conversationally, realizing quickly the walk to her front door was so short it would probably allow for the one question.

Maizy glanced back at him over her shoulder. "A few years. It's the first house I bought since moving to D.C."

He really wanted to ask her where she'd moved from, but they'd reached her front stoop already.

"Well…" he began slowly, "… here you are, safe and sound."

He mentally cringed at his words; could he sound anymore lame?

She smirked at him, and he realized that she must suspect, at least, that walking her towards the door was an excuse. Why he couldn't control his mouth or actions around this woman, he had no idea.

"Thanks again, Aaron, for…" she started, "… everything."

He shot her a warm smile. He couldn't remember the last time he'd smiled so much when not around his son. "It was no problem," he assured. "I was glad I was there to help."

Hotch did not feel the need to say anymore. He saw the shadow pass across her face and he caught her eye hoping to reassure her with a simple look. When her eyes lit up, he knew they were heading towards iffy territory.

"Me too…" she murmured.

A pregnant silence filled the air between them. Gazes locked; for the life of him he could not remember why he wasn't supposed to feel this way about the pretty woman in front of him. He had the strong urge to take his fingers and run them through her long, dark brown hair, to touch her cheek, hear her sigh at his touch.

But, the moment was broken a second later by the front door opening. And he suddenly remembered that Maizy Tibbs was not just a gentle, pretty soul, but his son's school teacher. He blinked back the stars from his eyes only to hear the sound of throat clearing.

He turned towards the now open doorway to see an older woman standing there. She was probably in her mid-fifties, with dark, gray speckled hair, and features similar to Maizy's. The woman was watching them curiously, amusement twinkling in her eyes.

"Aunt Amanda!" Maizy exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Hotch glanced back at Maizy to see her cheeks were tinged pink, but whether with embarrassment or exasperation he did not know. He was pretty sure his own cheeks were a mirror image of her own, though his was out of the sheer fact of being caught red-handed doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing.

When was the last time he blushed, he wondered.

"I decided to come visit, make sure you really had a happy birthday," the woman, Amanda, explained. "But, I can see this young man is already taking care of that."

Maizy grimaced, shooting him an apologetic, embarrassed look. "Aunt Amanda, that's not—"

"Aaron Hotchner, ma'am," he introduced, sticking his hand out for her to shake.

"So polite," she replied approvingly, shaking his hand. "Amanda Jenkins. It's nice to meet you, Aaron."

He gave her a polite nod. "Likewise." He turned to Maizy, placing a hand on her shoulder to give it a friendly squeeze. "I'll see you on Tuesday."

She nodded. "Y—Yeah."

"Good night, Maizy, Mrs. Jenkins," he said, letting go of Maizy reluctantly.

"Night Aaron," she murmured quietly.

He started off down the short pathway; he wasn't too far away when he heard Amanda say, "That is one good looking fellow you got there, Maizy, dear."

Hotch was too far away to hear Maizy's reply, but he sure could imagine the blush of pink that would spread across her delicate cheeks.

* * *

"Aunt Amanda!" Maizy exclaimed, exasperated.

"What?" Amanda replied, unaware of her nieces flustered-ness.

Maizy just ushered her inside. She took a moment to arm the security system before they headed to the living room.

"Why are you here again?" Maizy asked, collapsing into her beige upholstered chair.

"First, tell me more about Aaron," her aunt requested excitedly. "You never mentioned him the last time we spoke."

She let out a sigh. "Don't get too excited. Aaron is the father of one of my students. I ran into him tonight and he kindly offered me a ride home."

"Single father, I hope…"

"Does it matter?" Maizy questioned, ready for this conversation to be over.

"Of course it matters, dear. I guess, if he were unhappily married you could justify an affair—"

"Oh God!" Her aunt had definitely been watching way too many soap operas. "He's not married, all right. But that wasn't the point. I teach his son!"

"So? Is there a rule that you can't date parents?" Amanda wondered, echoing her own recent thoughts.

"I… I don't know," Maizy admitted.

"Well, honey, I'd find out first before tossing that delicious man to the curb, the way he was looking at you when I opened the door. Dear, that man adores you."

"Pft," Maizy made the noise, brushing her off. Though, she wouldn't voice how pleased it made her feel to hear her say that. She'd only just met him.

* * *

Hotch glanced at his watch as he walked out of his office. It was two-forty-five, almost time to get going. He was meeting Maizy at four-thirty. It wouldn't just be him and Maizy, he had to remind himself, Reid would be there too. And that was why he was leaving his office, to go in search of the young genius. He wanted to make sure that he remembered.

A quick glance down into the bull-pen showed him he wasn't at his desk. His next two options were the break room or in one of the upper offices with Morgan, Garcia, or Rossi.

He made Rossi's office his first stop. Hotch approached the door only to find it ajar, and there were voices coming from inside.

"A regular knight in shining armor, he was," Hotch heard Rossi's voice exclaim candidly.

He hadn't heard his name, but somehow he knew that the older man was referring to him. Hotch barely held in his groan.

Hotch hadn't seen Rossi the rest of the weekend and the team had had Monday off. That was two whole days without having to deal with the reality of what he was now calling "the Maizy situation". The situation being that he was becoming increasingly attracted to the young teacher with each passing moment. He could have dealt with it on his own, but, Saturday Rossi had become witness to his Maizy situation, and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would not live it down.

"Yeah?" he heard Morgan reply. "So, Hotch's got himself a new girl… nice!"

This time he did groan out loud. Well, it could have been worse; Rossi could have been telling this to Garcia.

"Don't scrimp, Rossi. I want details! How exactly did Sir Aaron swoop in and save thee fair maiden?" Garcia swooned.

_Crap!_ Quickly, without thinking, he rushed into the office, intending to put a stop to this fiasco.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Rossi replied; Hotch eyed the man behind his desk. He had an infuriating smirk on his face.

Morgan and Garcia were in the chairs in front of Dave's desk, backs to Hotch, that is, until his so-called best friend pointed in his direction. The two had grins as large as the Cheshire Cat himself; he stumbled back a step at their intensity.

"Ooh, boss-man!" Garcia exclaimed. "Details, I want to know more about your heroic escapade."

"Yeah, Hotch, tell us more," Morgan added; it was clear to him that he was about ready to burst out laughing.

Hotch refrained from slapping his forehead at the ridiculousness of the situation and said, instead, "I'm not sure what lies Dave has been feeding you—"

"No lies," Dave cut him off. "Just the facts. You came to Maizy's rescue, comforted her and took her home." Dave paused, and Hotch wondered if he really was going to stop there… nope. "Now, what we want to know is what happened _after_ you took her home…"

Hotch stared incredulously at the three identical, overeager, looks on their faces. How he could take a completely innocent gesture and twist it into something else was beyond him. In fact, it angered him.

He could see that the anger was coming through on his face when the looks on the three Bureau employees changed abruptly.

"Uh…" Morgan began, standing up. "I've got files… yeah files…" He left the room without finishing his sentence.

Garcia was quick to follow suit. "Derek!" she exclaimed, less subtle. "Don't leave me!"

Hotch watched them run off in surprise. He turned back around when he heard Rossi sigh.

"Now, look what you did."

He frowned. "What I did? You're the one spreading rumors. Maizy is an innocent, young—"

"Save it, Aaron," Rossi said abruptly, shocking him into silence. "We both know you're not angry because you think we were defaming her character."

Hotch crossed his arms over his chest, raising one eyebrow. That was exactly why he was angry. "No? Then why don't you tell me why I'm so irritated right now."

Rossi eyed him wordlessly for a moment as if weighing his options. "All right," he answered. "You're angry because we've hit the bull on the nose. You like Maizy Tibbs. And knowing you and your misguided sense of morality you don't know what to do with your feelings for the school teacher. That's what's really gotten you in a twist.

"And because I know you won't ask for my advice, I'm going to give it anyways… Don't wait and don't hold back. Go for it. Go for Maizy. I could tell she likes you, too. So for God's sake, and your own, and Jack's—and for Maizy's, for that matter— let yourself be happy for once in your life. For once, take what you want and have no regrets."

Hotch stood there a moment, taking in Rossi's eerie words. Was this his chance for true happiness? Was Rossi right? He was attracted to Maizy, that was for sure, but could it ever be more? He thought back to her warm, easy smile; inhaling a deep breath, he thought, _Oh yeah, it could definitely be more…_

…_but, she was Jack's teacher._ For the rest of the year, she would be in charge of his son's education. Could he mess with the Parent-Teacher relationship and quite possibly mess with the Teacher-Student relationship as well? Was that a risk he was willing to take?

He let out a sigh. "I don't know what you're talking about, Dave," he said, voice monotone. "I just came in to see if you've seen Reid."

Rossi eyed him, disappointment evident on his face. "He needed to pick up something at the store. He'll be on his way to the school right after. He's going to meet with Maizy?"

"Yeah," he answered curtly. He turned to leave, but was halted by Rossi.

"It would serve you right if the kid gets the girl instead…"

* * *

Well I hope you enjoyed. I know I said Reid and Maizy would meet in this chapter… I decided to save it for the next one since I felt this one was getting on the long side. So, look for Maizy to be charmed by the genius next time.

Thanks to my two reviewers: **nebula2 and Vaughn Tyler** and to anyone else who may be reading.

I will try my best to update soon.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Hey all! Back again with another longish chapter. Just wanted to quickly say thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing, you guys are awesome!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 6: **

* * *

Maizy sat at her desk, her laptop computer open in front of her. She was leaned forward, elbow propped up on the desk, with her chin sitting in her hand as she scrolled through the school board's staff website.

Her finger scrolled up and down the mouse pad as she aimlessly wandered the page, barely taking in any of the words or updates. Anyways, she hadn't logged on to read about the latest board policies. She was on because she wanted to find out specifically what her employer's policy on fraternizing with parents was.

"Oh God," she groaned out loud.

Every time she thought about trying to find out she felt silly. Yes, Aaron had been very kind to her and helpful over the weekend, but that didn't mean it went any further for him then just wanting to do her a kindness. He had certainly not implied in any way that it went further for him.

Her cursor moved from the search area to the little 'x' at the top, right hand corner of the screen, hovering.

She sat back, letting out a sigh, dropping her hands to her lap. But, what if it did go beyond just wanting to help her; what if he truly liked her? Shouldn't she at least find out if there was a rule, just in case?

Resigned, she straightened up in her seat. Her fingers went to the keyboard and she began to type:

**Relationships between teachers and par—**

"Excuse me?"

"Ah!" she yelped. Looking up from the keyboard, she found a young man, probably her age, eyeing her strangely.

As she waited for her heart to return to its normal heart rate, and her brain and mouth to connect, she eyed him back. He had short, slightly curly, brown hair, definitely on the messy side. She wondered if he styled it that way or if he'd just forgotten to comb it that morning. Somehow, she was leaning towards the latter. He had very handsome, chiseled features, making his face very pleasant to look at. And he was well dressed too, from his sweater vest to his tenth doctor-esque shoes.

"Um… hi," she managed to get out.

He gave her a smirk of a smile. "Are you Maizy Tibbs, Jack's teacher?" the man questioned.

"Y—yes," she stuttered. _Come on brain, work faster,_ she urged.

He approached the desk and said, "I'm Spencer Reid, the tutor Hotch told you about."

"Hotch?" she replied quizzically. "Oh, you mean, Aaron…"

He gave her that strange look again. "Uh… yeah…" he answered slowly. "Can I sit down?"

Mentally shaking her head at herself, she gestured for him to take a seat in one of the two chairs in front of her desk. "Yeah, of course; I'm sorry, you just caught me off guard."

"We _are_ supposed to be meeting today, aren't we?"

"Yeah, I was just in my own little world for a second," she assured, giving him a small smile.

He returned it. "So, should we get started?" he asked eagerly.

Mr. Reid turned to a previously unnoticed on her part messenger bag and started to pull some items out. "Umm… I can't divulge any information, Mr. Reid—"

"Oh, Spencer or Reid is fine," he interrupted her, sparing her a quick look before he went back to his bag, pulling out yet more things.

"Spen—cer," she said slowly, choosing his first name because using his last name seemed strange to her—what was this some kind of cop show?— "We need to wait for Aaron before I can talk specifics about Jack. Student confidentiality and all that…"

"I understand," he assured, putting one last thing on top of the pile he'd produced. "He should be here soon. I left the office before him."

_Wait, _her brain processed slowly. "You two work together?" she questioned.

"Mm hmm…"

Her eyes fell to her still open, partially completed search request. _X, X, X,_ her brain yelled. Her finger fell to the mouse pad and the webpage disappeared.

"He's my boss," Spencer finished and with those words she firmly shut her laptop.

He gave her another strange look as if trying to read her. She attempted to give him a small smile, telling herself to stop feeling so nervous. There was no way he knew what she was thinking about before.

"So," Spencer began, "Miss. Tibbs—"

She scrunched up her nose at her own name. For some reason she felt like it was ageing her. "Call me Maizy, please, only my students call me Miss. Tibbs."

He gave her a knowing grin. "Ok, Maizy, since we can't talk about Jack can we talk a little about inquiry based learning versus traditional teaching methods. I've been reading some articles about the benefits of letting children explore mathematical concepts instead of being told them."

Maizy stared at him for a moment, a bit stunned by his choice of topic. "Uh…" she stuttered.

"The benefits of this teaching method are outstanding, not only do the students understand where the concept comes from but they begin to enjoy math, too. I've brought along several manipulatives that you could use in your classroom to enhance your teaching…"

Maizy opened her mouth, not sure what to say. Was this guy actually saying her teaching needed enhancing? Not that she didn't mind new tips or tricks to better her practice, but she sure didn't need them from an FBI agent who hadn't even seen her in action. What did Spencer Reid know about teaching, anyways?

"Really, even the use of one of these tools will double the effectiveness of your lesson," Spencer continued, picking up something that looked like a wooden cutting board, except it was made of different shaped pieces with a star pattern overlaying it.

"Mr. Reid—" she began, but was cut off by a familiar, pleasant voice.

"I see you got here already, Reid," Aaron said, quickly approaching the desk.

She caught his eye and he gave her a somewhat apologetic look. She smiled back, just glad that he was here.

* * *

There was a reason why he'd wanted to arrive along with Reid. The young genius could be overwhelming at times. And as Hotch took a look at the pile of still wrapped items perched precariously on Maizy's desk, he knew that right now was one of those times.

"I see you've met _Dr._ Spencer Reid already," he emphasized, shooting Maizy a meaningful look, hoping she'd get what he was implying.

Her small mouth formed a bit of an 'O' and he knew she'd gotten it.

"Hotch," Reid protested. "I already told her that she could call me Spencer."

The young man looked irritated with him, and Hotch shot him a raised eyebrow. Was it his imagination or was Reid blushing?

Hoch continued to watch him warily, Rossi's words from earlier echoing in his brain: _"__It would serve you right if the kid gets the girl…" _His stomach suddenly twisted in knots at the thought of Maizy with Reid. He glanced back at Maizy; she was now watching him curiously. He gave her a reassuring look and he could see her eyes warm up at his look, twinkle with mirth.

No, when he'd gotten here he'd seen that Reid was trying her patience. He'd rushed in to save Maizy from what looked to be the beginnings of a lengthy lecture. Maizy wasn't interested in Reid, he was sure. He let out a bit of a sigh in relief.

"Why don't we all sit down," she suggested, cutting through the awkward pause.

He nodded and Maizy took a seat behind her desk. He took the moment to admire her confident posture; sitting behind that desk, in this classroom, is what she knew. He liked to see her this way. But he knew that she also had a vulnerable side that stemmed from a deep, old hurt in her life.

"Aaron?" she said, tilting her head at him quizzically.

He realized he was still standing there while the two of them were already seated. Reid shot him a perceptive look and he quickly sat down. Maizy's eyes asked him if anything was wrong. He gave her a slight shake of his head.

Her eyes remained on him a moment longer before turning to Reid. "So, D—Spencer," she caught herself. "Can I ask what you're a doctor of?"

Reid grimaced slightly. Hotch didn't know what was wrong with him, Reid was proud of his accomplishments and he usually didn't mind talking about them. So, why not now?

He listed out his achievements and Hotch watched as Maizy's mouth dropped open in amazement. He could see that she was weighing Reid's age against his many degrees. And Hotch could see the exact moment she figured it out, that Reid was more than just a know-it-all. The genuine awe in her warm, dark brown eyes gave way to respect and… admiration, making Hotch feel slightly uncomfortable.

What was wrong with him? He felt strange as Maizy continued to eye Reid with that same look. Was he… jealous? He quickly took in Maizy's dark brown waves and large brown eyes, a contrast to her pale skin… she was beautiful… and…

And damn Rossi for putting these inappropriate thoughts in his head.

"Wow," Maizy murmured after a moment's pause. Her voice certainly conveyed her awe. "I've… I've uh never met anyone with such vast accomplishments."

Hotch glanced at Reid to see that his cheeks were quite red now, but that he was now looking back at her with an increasing amount of warmth in his brown eyes.

"Jack," Hotch suddenly blurted out.

Both Maizy and Reid looked at him confusedly.

"We should… I mean… the curriculum," Hotch stumbled out lamely. "What should Reid know about the curriculum?"

The young school teacher shot him another worried look but plunged on when he didn't say more.

He knew he couldn't have her, but the idea of Maizy with anyone else was more than unappealing. He plain didn't like it.

He was so in trouble.

* * *

Maizy glanced at the two men sitting across from her. The meeting was winding down. And, thankfully, when they started talking strictly about Jack's needs that weird tension she felt between the three of them subsided.

As she listened to Spencer speak about the young boy she got the distinct impression that he cared for Jack greatly. Her earlier impression of the agent—and doctor—were very much altered. Dr. Spencer Reid seemed like a gentle, sweet, somewhat awkward man.

"Well," Maizy started as the three of them stood up. "It was very nice meeting you, Spencer… Are you sure you want me to keep these?" she asked, gesturing at the various manipulatives.

He nodded his head, his short brown hair flopping a bit into his eyes with the movement. She had the strange urge to sweep it away for him, but a second later he was combing it back himself. He then reached into his pocket, pulling out a card and extended his hand to her. She took it from him.

"My card, just in case you need to reach me about Jack or these or… whatever," Spencer let her know nervously. "My cell phone number is on the back too…"

He shrugged his shoulders in a 'no big deal' gesture, but she could tell that it was. A big deal, that is. And a thought suddenly hit her, did Spencer like her?

She suddenly felt nervous too, and that same feeling of trepidation from the weekend over took her.

_Keep it together, Maizy; Spencer is a nice guy. There's nothing wrong with the idea of him liking you…_ She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

"Thanks," she managed to get out in a steady voice. She even managed a smile. "It was nice meeting you," she said again.

When she glanced over at Aaron she saw that he was frowning at her. And she had no idea why he looked so displeased.

"Nice meeting you, too," Spencer finished, looking to Hotch. "I guess we should get going."

"You go ahead," Aaron told his employee sternly. "I'll catch up. I need to talk to Maizy about one other thing."

_Uh oh,_ why did she suddenly feel like she was about to get a detention? It was completely ridiculous. She hadn't done anything wrong.

"Ok…" Spencer said slowly, eyeing them carefully. He gave her a wave and then left the classroom.

She turned to glance back at Aaron and looked away quickly. He looked a mixture of worry and anger. The worry she got, the anger, not so much; to cover up her suddenly racing heart she came around her desk to start gathering Spencer's 'gifts.'

When Aaron suddenly put a hand on her arm, she knew that removing the desk from between them may have been a mistake. She was stunned by the electricity that shot through her at his touch.

"Aaron—"

His eyes were hard but she could see he was genuinely concerned for her. "You ok?" he cut her off.

She brushed it off. "Oh yeah, why wouldn't I be? Spencer seems like a nice person…"

"Maybe because you got the same look on your face as you did at the bar…" he practically whispered.

Pain shot through her as memories threatened to rush forth. She pushed them back, determined not to lose it again. She was all right, she was in control, she reminded herself.

She let her fingers dance over his hand momentarily. Something she couldn't name flickered in his eyes making her hold her breath in anticipation. He leaned towards her slightly and in surprise she moved her fingers away. The look disappeared from his eyes.

"I'm ok…" she reassured firmly. "Just… I'm all right…"

He nodded his head, stepping back from her. The look from a moment before was gone, but he still watched her intently, warmly; somehow, she knew that look from before wasn't a mirage. And it was that look from a second ago that fueled her mouth's next movements.

"Aaron, would you—" she stopped, hesitating.

She took her lower lip between her teeth and bit at it with indecision. She saw his eyes move to her lips before speaking.

"Would I what?" he said quietly.

Scared, she was ready to back down. But Bree's words form earlier this week played in her mind: "_you can't put your life on hold for much longer…" _She was right, it was now or never.

Determined, she had to try. "Would you like to go out with me sometime?" she blurted out quickly.

She could read the pleasure in his eyes before he too blurted out, "Yes."

Maizy couldn't help but smile. He'd said yes! She exhaled that breath she'd been holding, about to set a date and time when his face suddenly fell.

"I mean, I'd love to, but I can't," he added.

Confused, she couldn't mask it in her face or voice. "All… right…"

He looked angry again which perplexed her further. A minute later she understood that he was angry with himself.

"I'm such an idiot," he murmured.

He took a step towards her, blowing out a breath. His hands came to her shoulders, surprising her. "I'm sorry, Maizy."

"No, it's all right," she returned awkwardly, wanting nothing more than to run and hide. "I… I shouldn't have asked…"

He shook his head. "I want to, I do…"

He was confusing her more and more by the second. Did he or did he not like her? Because she'd pretty plainly revealed how she felt about him.

"But…" she prompted.

"Jack," he finished.

"Oh," she said in realization. How could she forget, she was still his son's teacher. She still didn't even know if it was all right to date him. She'd gotten carried away. Letting her feelings get away from her.

She stepped out of his grasp. "Oh," she said again, putting the desk between them. "You're right… Jack."

Maizy took a second to look into his eyes and glanced away just as quickly. She didn't like to see the regret in his usually lively eyes.

"Maizy, I would love to go out with you, I meant that," he reiterated as he held out his hands to her in a plaintive gesture, as if he were begging her to believe him.

And she did. But that didn't erase the hurt she felt.

"It's all right," she tried again, still not meeting his eyes. She was hurt and embarrassed. "I've uh… got some work to do…"

She heard him sigh. "Ok…don't work too late…"

She nodded her head and only looked up when she heard his retreating footsteps. She watched his back walk away until he was out the door. Letting out a sad sigh, she didn't know whether to be pleased that she'd at least tried or sad that he'd turned her down.

* * *

Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter begins with a little bit of Bree scheming to get Maizy out and about. Should be a good one.

Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing: **windwolf1988; nebula2 **_(Aunt Amanda will definitely be back, and Rossi is never done scheming. Thanks for the review! :) );_ **Ilovejj**; **reidreadsbooks** _(hope you enjoyed their meeting, more Maizy/Reid to come soon); _**Fairytopia **(_hope you enjoyed their meeting, more to come soon)_; **and marcallie** _(I'm a teacher too and I've never met one that even comes close to Aaron Hotchner, unfortunately, lol. I'm glad you're enjoying this. Thanks for the review!)._

I'll try to update soon. Last week of school coming up before summer holidays, so I'll be free for two months! Yay!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Hey all. Sorry for the wait. Had a bit of an issue with Carpal Tunnel, which kept me from getting any writing done and then I was in San Diego for a bit, so didn't have much time. Anyways, I've got the next chapter all ready to go, so I hope you enjoy. And if you've got a spare moment, let me know what you think. Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 7:**

* * *

Maizy continued to sit there, in her desk chair. She'd not moved a muscle since Aaron had departed minutes ago. She stared blankly at the open door.

Her feelings were so muddled at the moment that she didn't think driving home right now would be the best idea. She'd done something she hadn't really done in years. She'd tried; she'd put herself out there and she'd gotten hurt. The hurt feeling was overwhelming every other thing she felt at the moment, immobilizing her.

Bree suddenly appeared in the doorway, startling her out of her thoughts. Maizy wondered what her friend was still doing at the school. Educational assistants weren't required to stay past three o'clock.

Before she could voice her question, though, Bree spoke up, "Who was that with Jack's dad?"

"Oh," Maizy answered in surprise, and then continued on rather shyly, "That was Dr. Spencer Reid. He's a co-worker of Aaron's and he's going to be tutoring Jack in math."

"He was sure pretty to look at. He's an agent?" Bree wondered skeptically. Apparently, Jack hadn't made his father's occupation a secret.

Maizy's mind flashed her an image of the young doctor. She could see where Bree's incredulity at Dr. Reid being an agent came from. First, he really didn't look like he was out of college yet, or, at least, not by much. And second, compared to Aaron, he was much less built. But Maizy knew neither of those reasons really mattered. She, herself, was a frequent victim of ageism. That thought instantly took her back to her first meeting with Aaron and she couldn't contain her smile.

"You like him!" her friend suddenly exclaimed, bringing her back to the present.

"Who, Aaron?" she said with a prominent blush on her face.

Bree frowned abruptly and Maizy knew that she'd made an error. "No, I meant the Doctor, but now that you mention it—"

"Drop it, Bree," she demanded uncomfortably.

She got up and started to gather her work, wanting to quickly escape for home.

"Why? That's a good thing… he seems like a nice guy. I mean, look what he did for you at the bar. And he sure seems to like you," Bree rambled on, totally oblivious to Maizy's discomfort. "What could it hurt? Why not ask him out?"

Maizy, irritated beyond belief, slammed her briefcase down on top of her desk, startling her good friend. "I did ask him!" she exclaimed. "And he doesn't… Like me, I mean…"

Her friend wore a shocked, but pleased look on her face. Maizy didn't quite understand it. She'd just told Bree she'd been shot down.

"That's great!" the blonde stated exuberantly.

She let out a huge sigh, exhausted by today's—actually, just the evening's—roller coaster events, and plopped back into her chair. "It's great that I put myself out there, made a fool of myself, and got rejected?"

Bree gave her a sympathetic look as she, too, took a seat. "No, hun, that's not the good part. The fact that you _tried_ is. Honestly, Maizy, I've been worried about you. I mean, in the three years I've known you I think you've went on a grand total of three dates—"

Maizy made to pipe up wanting to defend herself, to tell her it was actually more, which would have been a lie. But, Bree wasn't having it, anyway.

"No, it's not right… and I know something happened to you to make you this way," Bree stopped abruptly, seeing the sudden tears in Maizy's eyes. "I wish you'd talk to me about it," she practically whispered.

She looked down into her lap through blurry eyes, surprised to see her hands clenched together in knots. "I can't," she said hoarsely.

Another sigh from Bree could be heard, followed by a tense pause. Maizy could tell that her closest friend was not pleased by her answer. She couldn't tell her, though, no matter how well-meaning she thought she was being. Saying it out loud would be akin to re-living it. And once was more than enough.

"Ok," Bree stated tentatively, pausing. "Ok… well, I meant what I said; trying is a good thing… Do you uh… maybe want to tell me about it? It might make you feel better…"

Her hesitant tone reminded Maizy that Bree just wanted her to be happy, no matter how hard she pushed her or how many dreaded bar outings she forced Maizy on, she really believed she was helping a friend out.

She smiled embarrassedly at her friend. "All… all right…"

Maizy proceeded to give her the almost word for word details of her earlier conversation with Aaron. And Bree listened without interrupting.

"Oh man," she groaned when Maizy finished her short tale. "He's got it bad for you."

"What? He said no," she pointed out.

"Yeah, after thinking about it," Bree told her in a matter of fact tone. "It's his first answer that counts. He so has a thing for you."

Just like when her Aunt had suggested that Aaron had looked at her adoringly, she felt warmth seep into her pores. But she denied it nonetheless. "You're crazy, Bree."

She gave her a smile to let her know that she was kidding and that she really appreciated her as a friend.

"The jury's still out on that one," Bree joked back, chuckling. She started moving towards the door. "I should get going; this is way too late for either of us to be here."

Maizy glanced at her wall clock. It was only five o'clock; she'd had days where she'd been there till almost nine. Five was nothing, but for Bree, the day ended at three, which reminded her…

"Hey," Maizy stopped her. "You were waiting for me?"

Bree turned backed around, looking slightly nervous. "Uh yeah… I was going to ask you something…"

Confused, she replied, "So ask."

"Oh… uh… you remember on Saturday," Maizy contained her groan, "the friend with Mr. Hotchner, David Rossi…"

Vaguely, she hadn't really been able to focus on much other than the feel of Aaron's hand surrounding hers as he led her back to safety. She nodded, nevertheless.

"Well, I uh… saw him again on Sunday," Bree continued, blushing profusely. "And he's having a thing this weekend… sort of like a barbeque. He invited me and thought that I should invite you, too."

"He mentioned me?" she said incredulously. She could barely conjure up an image of this David Rossi, so why did he want _her_ there.

"Yeah… but… never mind…"

"Bree," she started, warningly. What was going on?

"Ugh. Ok, he thought that Aaron liked you, too. I wasn't going to say anything, now," she finished churlishly.

"Oh," she replied lamely.

"Yeah."

A barbeque was just like one of those things she avoided, like the staffroom at lunchtime. But this would be even worse; this would be with complete strangers. Well, not all strangers, she was pretty sure Aaron would be there, too, but that would be a whole other level of awkwardness…

But for some reason, her mouth suddenly opened and she blurted out, "I'll go…"

Bree opened her mouth in surprise; no sound came out, though, for a good minute. "O… ok…"

Yeah, there'd be strangers there, and yeah, Aaron would be there—which her heart still saw as a plus—but she'd told Bree that she'd try. So, this was her trying. What could it hurt?

"Yeah…"

"Hey," Bree piped up in an attempt to lighten the moment. "That Doctor will probably be there, too…"

_Oh yeah… Spencer…_

* * *

Reid saw Hotch exit the school about fifteen minutes after he'd left. He'd waited next to Hotch's SUV just in case there was anything else he needed to know. He wanted to do this right. Jack was important to him, like him, he'd suffered a great deal at an early age. He felt a kinship to the young boy because of that.

"Hotch," he called out, probably unnecessarily, considering he was in plain view.

He watched Hotch's face take on a look of surprise as he took him in and then he was frowning. Reid wondered if what he'd stayed to speak with Maizy Tibbs about had not been pleasant for some reason.

"Reid," Hotch said coming into speaking distance. "What are you still doing here?"

"Everything all right?" he asked instead, catching the tense look on Hotch's face.

"Yes, why wouldn't they be?"

"Not sure, you just seem… did Maizy have anything else to say?" he wondered out loud.

"No," Hotch replied firmly. "Nothing."

"Ok…" He could clearly see that something had transpired between his boss and the school teacher, but Hotch didn't want to say and Reid wasn't comfortable with pushing further.

Hotch let out a sigh. "Look… I've got to head over to pick up Jack. Can we talk later about setting up a session with Jack?"

Reid shrugged. "Sure."

He gave Reid a quick nod and then was opening his door, getting inside his car. Reid gave him a bewildered look. It was like he was running. From what, Reid did not know.

He stood there a moment longer as Hotch drove out of the parking lot. Then, once he was out of sight, he began to make his way to his own parked car at the far end of the school's visitor parking.

Just as he was about to get into his own car he spotted two figures making the trek into the lot. One was short and blonde and the other was Maizy Tibbs.

She saw him a second later, catching his eye. He gave her a wave of his hand, hoping she'd come over to speak to him. Maybe he'd get some clues as to Hotch's sudden mood.

Maizy seemed to hesitate mid-step, it wasn't until she got a not so subtle nudge in the side from her companion that her direction changed and she began walking towards him.

Despite her hesitation, when she approached him she had a genuine smile on her face and said warmly, "Spencer, you're still here?"

He smiled back, liking that she remembered to call him by his first name, not doctor or Reid. As he looked at her he realized that she was very pretty, not that he hadn't noticed before. He'd definitely noticed. But he had been trying to concentrate on his duties as Jack's tutor. Here, now, outside of the school setting, he could consider other things like her beauty or how she'd become irritated by his suggestions earlier, but had been too polite to say anything. Contrary to popular belief, he noticed both of those things. A lot of people he knew would call him out on his inadvertent know-it-all habit, but she'd listened.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to Hotch before he left, make sure everything's all right…" he assured.

She nodded. "Right…" she trailed off; her features took on another hesitant look. She opened her mouth to say something and then closed it again, deciding not to.

Reid knew how tough it was to make idle conversation with virtual strangers. He sensed it was hard for her, too. "You want to ask me something…" he prompted.

Maizy blew out what sounded like a relieved breath. "Umm… yeah…"

He gave her what he hoped was an encouraging look and said, "Go ahead."

"Why do you call Aaron Hotch?" she said speedily.

For some reason, he felt slightly disappointed by her question; probably because Hotch was long gone and she was still thinking about him, whereas he was right in front of her. But he gave his brain a mental shake, it was a legitimate question.

"I don't know… I guess a lot of the agents at the Bureau go by their last names. Hotchner can be quite a mouthful… someone along the way shortened it to Hotch… and it's stuck," he answered.

"What do they call you?" Maizy pondered, shifting on the balls of her feet.

"Reid, mostly. JJ calls me Spence sometimes," he offered.

"Is JJ your girlfriend?" Maizy inquired curiously.

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. At one very brief moment in his life he'd had a crush on JJ and even had acted on it. But nothing came of it. Now, JJ was his closest friend. "No," he said quickly, when Maizy frowned. He realized laughing may have been a bit rude. "No, sorry… JJ's just a friend. Best friend, actually…"

"Oh…" she replied, considering.

The frown vanished off her face to be replaced with what he would call a dreamy look. He had no idea what she was thinking about, but, suddenly he felt a surge of loneliness wave off of her. It wasn't right, he thought to himself. Someone as pretty as her should never be lonely.

What he said next surprised him as much as it did her.

"Would you like to go get a coffee?"

"S…sure," she replied tentatively, but a smile spread across her face, radiating outwards to warm him, too.

* * *

Well that's it for this one. I hope you enjoyed. More Hotch and Maizy stuff to come. Plus Dave's barbeque, too. I'll try to have that up a lot sooner than I had this one up.

Anyways, I just wanted to thank those who are reading this and those who are reviewing as well: **Phoenix; nebula2** _(oh yeah, I'd definitely take either one of them too, lol. Thanks so much for the awesome review!)_; **and FairyT** (_Thank so much!)_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Hey all! Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 8:**

* * *

Maizy picked up her hairbrush and pulled it through her long, dark waves; one stroke, two, she put the brush back down on her dressing table, only to pick it up again. She was nervous. Beyond nervous, actually. She was more than likely on her way to a full-fledged anxiety attack.

"Breathe," she murmured to herself. "Breathe, Maizy."

Recalling what her psychologist had told her to do some ten years on how to curtail the oncoming attack, she breathed in and out slowly. In through her nose, out through her mouth in long deep calming breaths.

With one last breath expelled, she stood up in front of her bedroom mirror to stare at herself contemplatively. She looked good at least. Maizy didn't know if barbeques were the norm in mid-October, but if it did get chilly she'd be able to weather the cold. She paired a knee length, dark denim skirt with a red V-necked sweater. Around her neck she twisted a red scarf with little white hearts printed along it. And she wore knee high black boots with black opaque stockings to further weather proof her ensemble. She was prepared, and looked good at it.

If only her stomach would cooperate, she lamented. As if on cue, it flipped over and she put one hand to her flat abdomen as if that would magically soothe the ache.

"Bree will be there," she told her reflection assuredly. She'd made her best friend promise to stick to her like glue unless told to do otherwise, which frankly was unlikely.

"So will Spencer…"

She smiled almost involuntarily when she thought of him. They'd had coffee together four days ago and the little outing still put a smile to her face.

* * *

_Maizy sat semi-comfortably across from the young doctor in the small coffee shop they'd walked over to. She could scarcely believe how at ease she felt sitting with Spencer. It was almost unusual. Having just met him, she should have still felt nauseous—as her past encounters with new men had taught her. But she chalked up her comfort to the fact that Spencer Reid wasn't just some guy, he was an agent, who had the trust of Aaron, and if Aaron trusted him, so did she._

_She took a sip of the hot, foamy mocha latte that Spencer had bought her and considered the genius unsurely. Maizy was out of her element still, of course. Idle small talk wasn't her thing, so she waited for him to speak._

"_So," he began curiously, "how long have you been shaping young minds?"_

_She smiled at his word usage. She was getting the impression that Spencer didn't do simple and she found the quality endearing._

_Maizy gave herself a mental shake, wondering at her sudden attraction to the agent in front of her. Sure he was good looking—could have popped right out of the pages of a fashion magazine—and he certainly was cute, there was no question about that. But she'd only just met him. And she had to remind herself of this fact._

"_Um…" she answered, mentally counting. "Four years now. Though, this is only my second at the elementary level. I don't know if Aaron told you, but I started off as a high school teacher."_

"_Oh," he answered; Maizy caught the beginnings of a slight frown and she wondered what she'd said wrong. "No, he didn't. Have you known Hotch long?"_

_Cheeks tingeing pink, she realized she was talking about Aaron again. "Oh no… two weeks, that's how long I've known him." She wondered if she should say sorry and then thought better of it, deciding to steer the conversation away from Aaron, instead. "How long has it been Doctor Spencer Reid?"_

_The frown vanished and his face took on a considering look as he lifted his fingers as if he were about to use them to count. Of course, being so young of a doctor she was sure the gesture was more nervous habit than for any real reason._

_Maizy's mouth dropped open in silent surprise as she realized that the man who sat across from her was just as nervous as she was. That was a change, meeting someone who may have been as insecure as she was. The need to put him at ease came on suddenly in her._

"_I graduated high school when I was… twelve… so that would mean…" he trailed off, thinking._

_Her mouth now hung open for a totally different reason. He'd graduated high school at _twelve_, her mind echoed in disbelief. He hadn't been much older than the kids she taught now. She could imagine what that must have been like, so small, so different, in such a big place. Her own time in high school after her sixteenth birthday had probably been similar. Isolated was the perfect way to describe it._

_Spencer had stopped talking and she realized it was because she was still gawking at him like he was a side-show attraction._

"_Sorry," she mumbled out her apology, her cheeks now a flaming red. She looked everywhere but at him, not believing her social blunder._

"_Hey," he said softly, drawing her gaze to his, he had an amused look on his face. "No worries, I should have probably eased into that one. Believe it or not, I'm sometimes not the brightest…"_

_She chuckled_ _at that. "I don't… but, thanks."_

* * *

Maizy smiled at the memory; they'd continued talking for another thirty minutes. Nothing very serious being said between the two, but it was still enjoyable. In the end, he'd casually mentioned David Rossi's barbeque and she wondered, now, if he'd been attempting to invite her as his guest. But she'd interrupted him to say that she was going, too.

He'd then surprised her by asking if she was going with Aaron. After blushing accursedly once again, she'd denied it and said she was going with Bree. But she was becoming aware of just how transparent she was being when it came to Aaron Hotchner. Somehow she'd have to rein in her feelings for the man.

She let out a sigh. It was sure going to be hard, though. Considering the fact that every time she was around him her heart sped up noticeably. Even yesterday when they'd gathered around to discuss Jack's test results, she had to consciously tell herself to keep her cool.

Aaron had been right, of course, Jack had to come first. And now that they knew definitively that he did indeed have a learning disability she had to focus any of her extra Hotchner energy on the one who needed it most. Maizy would try her best to forget that Aaron was the first man since her teen years who actually made her feel normal. She needed to forget that he was the first man that made what happened to her when she was sixteen feel just like a horrible nightmare and not a constant reality. And she'd take Bree's advice and move on with her life.

She'd start with David Rossi's barbeque and move on to visiting her home town over Thanksgiving break. As for men… well, if Dr. Spencer Reid actually did like her, she'd not toss him to the curb, that was for sure.

She let out a more pleased sigh. For once in her life she felt as though things were back in her control. From experience, though, she knew that that feeling could very well be fleeting, so it was no wonder she was pondering how long her sense of control would last.

* * *

Hotch stood in front of his bathroom mirror, a towel draped around his hips, having come right out of the shower. He used a towel to wipe at the fog on the mirror and considered himself carefully. From time to time, he found himself staring at those nine jagged marks spread across the expanse of his torso, the thought of what they represented always on his mind when he did so. Today, though, another thought occurred to him: What would Maizy think if she saw them?

Would she recoil at the sight of them? Somehow he didn't think so. He had a feeling they could sit down and share equally horrible horror stories about things done to them in the past. He thought that if she'd ever see his scars she would look at him with tears shimmering in those large brown eyes of hers and empathize with him, she would share his pain and maybe together they could lessen each other's heartache.

Except that wouldn't be happening now that he'd turned her down. She would never have the opportunity to really see him. He let out a sigh, surprised at the sudden knife sharp pain in his chest that he could label as disappointment.

He remembered yesterday when he saw her in the school's office, waiting there for him. Her face broke out into a brilliant smile just at the mere sight of him. And he'd returned it whole-heartedly. But then, a second later, a look passed in her eyes and he knew she was recalling his rejection from Tuesday. She'd still smiled at him, but it became more guarded, more professional. His mood fell considerably at this reaction. But he'd had to remind himself that that had been what he'd wanted all along, to remain on professional terms with his son's teacher. Never mind the fact that when he was near her he had the strong urge to pull her into his arms, to hug her, kiss her.

Hotch let out a harsh sigh. _Keep it together_, he reminded himself. He'd have to push her from his thoughts for now. He had his son to think about.

The preliminary tests had shown that Maizy had been right; Jack's struggles in math went deeper than just not liking it. They'd discussed the specifics and made initial plans on how to help Jack. And that's what he'd focus on from now on, Jack.

* * *

Reid came out of his bedroom and walked the short hallway of his apartment to his kitchen, living room combination. He was all set to go.

"Looking good," Morgan greeted him from the kitchen, where he'd left his friend when he went to get changed.

"Are you eating my fruit loops?" Reid shot back, as he noticed the man munching on something. "We're going to a barbeque, you know…"

Morgan popped another bite into his mouth and spoke with his mouth full, completely ignoring anything Reid had just said. "What's with the duds? And is that… gel in your hair?"

Reid's face instantly flushed. "_What_?" he replied defensively.

So he'd taken a little extra care in his clothes today, no big deal—black sweater vest over a light blue, button up shirt, and dark jeans—they weren't anything special. And his hair had gel in it for the sole reason that they'd be outside and it could possibly be a windy day, he didn't have time to check the weather. And… he just felt like looking nice today, that's it. There was no other reason for it.

"So," Morgan continued, gesturing at him with a spoon. "Who's the girl?"

If his face had been pink before it was scarlet now. "_Girl?_" Reid echoed, voice increasing in pitch. "What girl? There's uh… no girl."

His so-called friend laughed out loud. Morgan at least had the decency to put his empty bowl in the sink, before coming around the kitchen island to further harass him.

"Ok, ok, pretty boy," Morgan relented, easily believing Reid's claim of no girl.

Reid let out a sigh. And why not believe him. He was Dr. Spencer Reid; of course he couldn't be interested in anything but statistics. Too bad this time he actually did have someone on his mind.

"You ready to go? That cereal isn't going to cut it," the profiler admitted. "I need some real food, fast."

"Yeah… yeah, just let me grab my bag," Reid answered, somewhat disappointed at the quick change of subject. Truthfully, if he could muster up the courage, he wouldn't have minded a little advice.

Maizy Tibbs was a nice girl. She was clearly intelligent, as well as good-hearted. He'd really enjoyed having coffee with her the other day. And he'd gotten the impression that she hadn't minded it either.

His mind had the ability to think through a million things pretty much at once. And lately, a good chunk of it was being occupied by that very same dark-haired, school teacher.

"Reid, man, please tell me you're not bringing a book," Morgan called after him.

He winced mid-step, that's exactly what was in his bag. He'd known Rossi to have invited more than just the team to this thing; so there was a good chance of him committing some social gaffe with someone he didn't know, among a lot of people. When he did so, he'd make his retreat with a good book: _Quantum Mechanics and Path Integrals._

Ignoring Morgan's comment, Reid rushed to his bedroom, grabbed the messenger bag, placing it over his head, and returned back to the living room.

"Come on, Reid," Morgan said, solemnly. "How are you ever going to find a girl if you aren't looking?"

"I'm looking," Reid countered.

Morgan gave him a 'yeah right,' look and preceded him to the front door.

"In fact," Reid continued, causing the older agent to pause in his tracks. Morgan zeroed in on him rather quickly, causing him to hesitate.

"There _is_ a girl," his friend latched on.

Reid let out a sigh. He needed advice, who better to get it from then The Master—Morgan's own given title, not his.

"May… be…" he answered awkwardly, fidgeting, not meeting Derek's eyes.

"And she's going to be there today, isn't she?"

"Uh huh…"

"Then," Derek began, tone plaintive. "For the love of all that is holy… _leave_ the book."

"But—" Reid tried to explain.

"No, Reid, leave it," Morgan cut him off.

He let out a sigh. He was probably right. He couldn't talk to Maizy if he had his nose buried in complex physics equations. Almost reluctantly, he slipped the strap off his shoulder.

"Good," Morgan decreed. He closed the distance between them, placing a friendly hand on his shoulder. "Look, kid, if you like the girl you need to make sure she knows it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Be yourself, but make sure you let it slip during all those random statistics you shoot off that you wouldn't be adverse to a little kiss once in a while," he continued, grinning from ear to ear.

Reid, embarrassed, pushed Morgan's hand from his shoulder. "God, Morgan, you are a dog."

Morgan chuckled, making his way to the front door, only to open it and stand in the doorway. "Come on lover boy, your princess awaits…"

Reid groaned out loud; why had he opened his mouth? He was sure, he'd never hear the end of this…

* * *

Well that's it for this one. I hope you enjoyed getting into the three main character's heads before the main event. Next chapter, the fun—barbeque—begins. :)

Thanks to everyone who's been reading and to those who have been reviewing: **nebula2** _(glad you're enjoying this, and so glad you like the OC's);_ **marcallie** _(yeah he did. I cringed the whole way writing that scene. But, it had to be done :) );_ **and hot4booth** _(thanks for taking the time to review all the chapters. :) )._

I'll try to update soon. See ya then!


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Hey all! Here's the next chapter for you. I'm going to try to fit in a few more updates before the new school year begins in the first week of September. I foresee being a substitute teacher this year, so I'll have more time on my hands then the last school year, but you never know. So, count on a few more updates between now and the end of the month. Anyways, I hope you enjoy and that you'll take a moment to let me know what you think. Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 9:**

* * *

Maizy had tried her hardest to keep her eyes in their sockets as she and Bree had driven through the front gate and down the long driveway, up to David Rossi's huge house. But it was hard. Bree had never said anything about the man living in a mansion. And now, as they were being led around the house, by a butler no less, Maizy was pretty sure she resembled a Furby toy.

Having come from a small, modest town, she had never known anyone who lived as lavishly as David Rossi looked to live. She'd been able to calm herself down on the ride over, to the point where she believed she could handle this social outing. But, now that she saw what she would be dealing with the butterflies in her stomach were once again restless. She could _not_ do this.

A hand came out of nowhere and clamped down on her arm, causing her to jump in step.

"Hey," Bree said soothingly. Maizy threw her a panicked look and the shorter than her ed. assistant squeezed her arm comfortingly. "I'm here, remember?"

She breathed out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. She managed to throw her friend a grateful small smile. Bree was right; with her by her side she could do this. By the end of the day Maizy certainly wouldn't be known as the wit of the party, but, at least she wouldn't be known as a freak either.

They reached the backyard—park would have been a more accurate term for the giant expanse of space—a minute later. There was a good twenty people already gathered and spread across the grounds, from the patio by the back of the house, all the way back to where Maizy could see an actual garden growing. And her spirits fell when she noticed that not one of them was Aaron or Spencer.

_Ok,_ she thought to herself. _How quick can I make my escape?_ There was no way she was staying with so many strangers. It was one thing to come knowing _some_ people; it was a completely different thing just knowing Bree. Nope, she was out.

"Oh, look!" her friend exclaimed. "There's Dave!"

And then the next thing Maizy knew, her so-called best friend was seemingly abandoning her already, rushing off towards the man she vaguely recognized from the night Aaron had rescued her.

David Rossi had been talking with a pretty woman with long blonde hair, who was holding the hand of a little boy with the same gorgeous hair. He seemed to excuse himself as soon as he caught sight of Bree coming his way. Not to be forgotten so easily, Maizy rushed ahead, too, determined to catch up.

She arrived just in time to witness Mr. Rossi's affectionate kiss to her friend's cheek. He pulled back and Maizy could see that the man regarded her impulsive, sometimes rambunctious colleague with the same warmth that Bree was showing him. She liked him instantly for that.

A second later Mr. Rossi's gaze found her and he took her in curiously. Maizy fidgeted slightly at having been caught watching the personal exchange. "And you must be Maizy," he greeted her kindly, outstretching his hand. "I'm so glad you could make it."

She shook his hand, smiling politely. Wondering, as she did so, why she got such a positive feeling from the man. It couldn't just be because he noticeably liked Bree.

Before answering, she studied his face momentarily. And she realized that he reminded her of her father, warm, friendly and caring, with a hint of a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Thank you for inviting me."

Mr. Rossi gave her a bright, genuine smile, setting her even more at ease. He threw an arm around Bree's shoulders—the woman seemed super pleased at the gesture, needless to say.

"I've heard so much about you from Bree." Maizy gave him a doubtful eye. Just how much info could he have gleaned from the small blonde after a couple of meetings? Surely they weren't spending all their time together talking about her. As if he sensed her doubt, he added, "And, well, from Aaron, of course."

"Oh?" she breathed out in surprise. She tried to contain her blush at this news, but failed.

"Oh yes. I've wanted to meet the girl who's had my cool and collected best friend more flustered than I've ever seen him. And I've seen him both on his wedding day and the day he signed the divorce papers so that's saying a lot."

Maizy had no idea how she should respond to that comment. _She_ made Aaron flustered? Somehow, that was hard to believe. But she didn't think the man was lying to her either. Teasing, maybe. But Rossi had an honest face, even if she thought he might be exaggerating a bit. Until now she'd wholly believed her affection for Aaron had been one sided.

_That's not true,_ her brain yelled at her. _He did say yes when you first asked him out._

She gave a mental nod to the voice. _That was true. Still…_

Mr. Rossi was eyeing her with a scrutinizing stare and she shifted on her feet uneasily realizing he was waiting for some kind of an answer. Thankfully, she was saved when she heard a warning voice say, "_Dave…_" coming from directly behind her.

She whirled around to come face to face with Aaron. He'd finally arrived! And it felt like a weight had suddenly lifted from her chest. But his eyes were on Mr. Rossi; he was giving him a look of censure. And she wondered what that was all about.

"Relax, Aaron," the older of the two chided.

She watched him give his friend a stern squint before his gaze fell to her. The transformation on his face was startlingly quick. It softened as he smiled at her, taking in her presence. He looked at her with affection and something akin to… adoration. That startled her.

_No,_ she told herself, _that wasn't what the look was._ She wasn't experienced enough to know what it was, exactly. Still, she beamed back at him, just pleased to see him at all. "Hi," she said slowly.

"Hi," he replied, giving her a questioning stare. "I didn't know you were going to be here."

She glanced back at their host—startled temporarily to see him and Bree watching them like hawks—and said, "Mr. Rossi invited me."

He stepped forward. "Dave, honey," he told her. "Bree told me such nice things about you, how could I not?"

Aaron nodded his head, eyes still glued to her. On any other person she would have been uncomfortable by all the attention, but from him… she could feel her heart quicken and a sense of elation came on.

_Focus, Maizy,_ she ordered herself. _You're _just_ his son's teacher. That's all._

"Have you met Bree, yet?" _Dave_ interrupted her thoughts.

Aaron hesitated in taking his gaze off of her and she, too, turned her focus back onto the other two people present. Dave gave her a knowing grin that had her blushing all over again.

"Not officially," Aaron answered.

"Bree Williams," she introduced herself. "I'm Maizy's best friend. I'm also an education assistant at your son's school and Jack's a great kid."

"Thank you," he replied politely, beaming at the praise.

Maizy could tell Jack was his world. All the more reason for them to keep things professional, she mused.

"There's something I wanted to show you, Bree," Dave swiftly changed the subject, giving her friend a meaningful look. He then turned to Maizy and said, "Feel free to explore the grounds, inside, outside, nothings off limits."

"Oh… thank you," she stuttered out, not sure how comfortable she'd be perusing the home of a practical stranger. But it was a nice gesture.

"There's a library inside," he added temptingly. "Bree told me you like to read…"

She glanced at her friend, wondering once again at how much time, really, could they have spent talking about her. Bree stared back at her somewhat sheepishly. Nonetheless, the idea of seeing a personal library was intriguing to her. She would have loved to have one of her own, if her house were big enough to hold one. Right now, many of her books found home's on any flat surface she could find.

"That would be nice to see, thank you," she answered demurely.

"Good, now if you'll excuse us," he said, starting to guide Bree away. He gave Aaron a pat on the shoulder, parting with a "Have a good time, you two; don't do anything I wouldn't do…"

"That's not much," Aaron added amusedly.

The older man grinned at them. "Exactly."

Maizy was doomed to have a red face all day, she surmised.

* * *

Hotch glanced back at Maizy. Her presence here had genuinely surprised him. If he'd had a clue that Dave had invited her he would have had more time to prepare himself. To get over the nervousness and pleasure at seeing her and be able to school his features appropriately. As it were, he couldn't stop beaming at her. He was giving himself away, he knew. But, because she looked at him the same way, he couldn't bring himself to care right then.

"So…" she began, breaking the silence nervously. "How long have you and Dave been friends?"

He let out a sigh. "A long time… too long, I sometimes think," he said good-naturedly.

She chuckled at that. "He seems very nice," she said kindly, as she stared off at his retreating form. She had a wistful expression in her eye and a second later he realized why. "He kind of reminds me of my dad…"

"What happened?" he asked without thinking. When she turned on him with wide, surprised eyes he attempted to back track. "I mean, you don't have to… it's uh… none of my business… I mean, never mind…"

He shut his mouth quickly to quell the babbling that was gushing out of his mouth.

"It's ok," she assured. "He uh died in Iraq three years ago. I still miss him… Dave looks a little like him and he's nice, too…"

He suspected that it went a little beyond just looks, but she didn't seem like she was going to elaborate on any of it further. And Hotch didn't feel like pushing, so he let it go. "Well, Dave can be nice," he agreed. "He can also be sneaky too… don't be surprised if you're suddenly agreeing to dog-sitting or something…"

Hotch smiled letting her know that he was just joking and she returned it. "So, where's your aunt?" he asked conversationally.

Her cheeks tinged pink and he could tell she was remembering the night he'd dropped her off at home. It was a scene that he, himself, kept replaying in his head over and over again. It was also a moment of closeness between them. And since he'd decided that he couldn't pursue her, despite his fast becoming obvious feelings, he would hold on to that night for memory's sake.

"Oh," she said abruptly. "She's at home. She wanted to come, but I thought it best for her to stay at home…"

… _for understandable reasons,_ he finished for her in his head. From his brief meeting of Amanda Jenkins, he could tell she was a handful of a woman. He could relate to having someone like that in his life, after all, he had Rossi, a handful of a guy.

Nevertheless, Hotch let her know truthfully, "It was nice meeting her."

"I bet," she said, amused, a twinkle in her eye. "She'll be going back home, next week, for Thanksgiving. I'll be going, too, to visit."

"Where _is_ home?" he asked the question he'd wanted to ask the night he'd met her aunt.

"Home, for me, is here," she let him know. An odd flash passed across her dark eyes. "Berryville is just where I grew up."

Though her tone was pleasant enough, that look told him that she was not a big fan of the small town.

"Is it—"

"Where's Jack?" she cut him off.

He frowned, wondering at the abrupt and deliberate change of topic, but answered, "Just over there," he pointed to the gazebo, "he's playing with my colleague's son."

They took a moment to glance over to where Jack and Henry were playing, running around the now empty structure. He turned away from the sight once he knew his son was all right and glanced back at Maizy. She was smiling at the sight of the boys. But if he looked harder he could see the sudden strain around her expressive eyes.

As if sensing him watching her, she turned to meet his eye, frowning as well. He knew now that whatever caused her reaction at the bar and her initial hesitation towards Reid that first day she'd met him was due to some incident, or incidents, that had occurred in Berryville. He wished she'd tell him what it was so that he could make it all better. He hated seeing her so clearly sad and scared, he realized.

"Maizy—" he began at the same time she said, "Aaron—"

They both stopped abruptly waiting for the other to speak up. But just as he was gesturing for her to go first they were suddenly interrupted.

"Maizy," he heard her name being called.

She seemed confused for a second and then broke their eye-contact to search for whoever was calling for her. Hotch saw him first and pointed her in the direction of an approaching Reid. A wave of jealously unexpectedly threatened to bowl him over as he watched the younger man come closer with obvious intent.

Hotch watched him come up the path; he wasn't alone, Morgan was trailing the genius of their group. They must have come over together. Upon closer inspection, Reid just looked too happy for Hotch's comfort at the sight of the school teacher.

Maizy shot Hotch an apologetic glance and then turned back to Reid, giving him a full blown smile that once again had him envious.

"Spencer," she greeted warmly, giving him a wave, waiting for him to close the distance.

Finally, he and Morgan stood in front of them. Morgan gave him a nod in greeting, but the youngest agent seemed to only have eyes for Maizy.

"You came," Reid said in surprise.

"I said I would," she answered humorously.

Reid looked at her sheepishly, running his fingers through his hair—_Was that gel? And, wait a minute, Reid knew she was coming?_

"I know, it's just you're braver than I am, coming to a place full of a bunch of strangers…"

"Not all strangers; I know you," she countered warmly. "And Aaron…"

"I think that's my cue," Morgan piped up, getting the brunette's attention. "I'm Derek Morgan, friend and co-worker to these two."

Hotch watched them shake hands. Maizy eyed him curiously and politely replied, "Maizy Tibbs, I'm also Jack's fourth grade teacher."

"You're," Morgan began, glancing at him questioningly, "Maizy?"

Hotch could read the agent's inquiry. He knew he was putting things together, remembering her name from when Dave told the story of how he'd helped her. He gave Derek a slight shake of his head, willing him not to mention it. Morgan gave him a quizzical look in return before glancing at Reid in concern. Hotch didn't know what that was about.

"Um… yeah?" she answered with a questioning inflection.

"I… uh… I've heard so much about you," Morgan finished, clearly uncomfortable.

"You have?" Reid questioned; making it obvious that he hadn't said much, if anything about her.

"Umm yeah, from Hotch," he answered. Hotch didn't enjoy the pointed, somewhat accusing stare on the profiler's face, directed right at him.

"From Hotch?" Reid questioned, now looking at him suspiciously, too.

What had he done? Hotch had no idea.

Hotch chanced a glimpse at Maizy. It was clear to him that she had no clue what was going on either.

"And from Jack, too, you know," Morgan added quickly. "He thinks you're a great teacher."

Maizy smiled faintly at that, still confused. Hotch wasn't sure if Jack had ever really mentioned her to him or not, but he definitely wanted to know what was up with Morgan.

"You guys are all very close, aren't you?" she wondered out loud before he could question his one-time replacement.

"Just like a family," Morgan answered, giving Hotch an intent eye.

_What the hell?_ that's what he wanted to know.

"I see…" she said awkwardly.

"Maizy," Reid spoke quickly, covering the palpable tension. "Would you like to walk over to Rossi's gardens? He's got some rare _Cosmos atrosanguineus.' _They're more commonly known as the Chocolate cosmos. They're quite pretty."

"Sure, Spencer, I'd like that," she said. She looked from Hotch to Morgan, giving them both strange looks. So they weren't exactly being inconspicuous. "It was uh… nice meeting you, Derek."

"Likewise."

Hotch waited until they were well out of earshot before he turned to Derek and said, "What the hell was that?"

"_That's _Maizy?" Morgan emphasized, pointing at her retreating back.

Hotch frowned, slightly confused. "Yeah. I think I'd know my own son's teacher."

"No, I mean, that's the woman you saved that night Dave was talking about," he clarified.

"It is," he replied tentatively. "So?"

"That's also the girl _Reid_ has a thing for."

"What?" he exclaimed incredulously. Of course he'd seen signs that the Doctor might find Maizy attractive—she was pretty, so it wasn't hard to believe—but a _thing_? _Come on_. "He met her _once._"

"Well, that one time led to coffee," Morgan informed him.

Shocked, Hotch replied, "I didn't know that."

Reid was having coffee with Maizy? Evidently it wasn't to discuss Jack's needs or else he'd know about it. This made him feel… well, he couldn't put his finger on the exact feeling, but it didn't make him feel good that was for sure.

He heard Morgan let out a sigh. Hotch looked up to see the younger man studying him. And it seemed he'd come to some kind of conclusion.

"Look, I can see you like her," Morgan began, holding up his hand when Hotch made to interrupt. "But, I can tell you Reid likes her, too."

"He said that?"

"Not exactly. You know how he is when it comes to girls," the genius's best friend explained. "But I _knew_ there was a girl… and after meeting Maizy, it's obvious she's the one."

"So, what are you trying to tell me, Morgan?" Hotch wanted to hear it in plain English.

"He likes her. I think she likes him. We know this doesn't come easy to the kid, so…"

Hotch gave him a grimace as he finished for him, _"… back off?"_

Morgan held up his hands in a 'you said it' gesture. Hotch wasn't sure what right he had to be telling him this. There was no universal rule saying he couldn't go after Maizy just because Reid liked her as well. The non-annoyed part of his brain understood Morgan's concerns, though. However, he didn't really like being told what to do. If he liked Maizy—and he did—he could pursue her if he wanted. _Except…_

"Maizy's sweet," Hotch let him know. "She's kind and pretty and Jack adores her. But she's his teacher, so we've chosen to remain professional. End of story."

He hoped the look he gave him would convey just how done with this topic he really was. His personal life was not up for candid discussion, despite Dave's attempts to the contrary.

"Ok," Morgan agreed readily.

Hotch turned away, ready to find someone else to speak with. Aside from his short conversation with Maizy, he was not enjoying the barbeque so far.

"Just," Morgan felt the need to add, "be careful."

He looked away, catching sight of the woman in question and Reid walking through the flower beds. He knew Maizy had been hurt somewhere along the way and that she hadn't recovered. _And_ Hotch also knew that despite his vast knowledge and accomplishments, Reid was on the lonely side. Maybe it would be ok if Reid dated her.

Though, the thought and sentiment were sympathetic and logical, something inside him still screamed to not let her go.

He'd have to ignore it.

* * *

Well, that's it for this chapter. I'm sure some of you are anxious to know more about what happened to Maizy; I'm hoping to give more clues in a couple of chapters from now, when Maizy visits her hometown.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Just wanted to say thanks to the people who are reading and have alerted this story, also wanted to say thanks to those people who took the time to review: **nebula2** _(thx! I knew you'd like that scene between Morgan and Reid, more of that to come);_ **AndDownTheRabbitHoleWeGo; FairyT** _(thx! Team Reid vs. Team Hotch, I like that. Who knows who's going to win. ;) );_ **marcallie** (_there's definitely going to be some conflict, for sure. Stay tuned till the end…);_ **hot4booth** _(yeah, I think the Morgan/Reid interaction was a highlight of that chapter. I'm glad you liked it.);_ **and Vaughn Tyler.**

See ya all soon!

Quick note from the Chit Chat on Author's Corner Forum:

THE AWARDS SEASON HAS COMMENCED! Nominations have opened for the third annual Profiler's Choice Awards for Criminal Minds' fandom! Please visit Chit Chat on Author's Corner forum for the nomination ballot, rules and guidelines and category definitions. Please review ALL information BEFORE submitting your nomination ballot. Ilovetvalot, Tonnie2001969, and HXChick are NOT eligible for ANY awards.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Hey all! Well, it hasn't been a long time since I last updated (by my standards at least, lol) and I'm updating again! I have to say that this story is pretty addictive to write. I'm really enjoying writing this one (and I know, it's not Jotch? Amazing, right.) Anyways, I hope you're all liking it too.

Quick note from Chit Chat on Author's Corner Forum (on fanfiction . net):

_**NOMINATIONS HAVE STARTED for the PROFILER'S CHOICE CRIMINAL MINDS FANFIC AWARDS! Calling all CM readers and authors! Join us for our third annual Profiler's Choice CM Awards on fanfiction .net ! Help us choose the best of the best of the CM stories on fanfiction . net , and let your voice be heard. Please check out the nomination ballot and rules at Chit Chat on Author's Corner Forum. All rules and information are on the forum.**_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 10:**

* * *

Maizy watched him intently as he demonstrated his coin disappearing trick on Jack and Henry. Reid glanced up to catch the look of awe and determination on her face. She'd told him she was determined to "learn all his secrets." The thought of them getting close enough for that to actually happen put both a smile on his face and a butterfly in his stomach.

When they'd finished perusing Rossi's various flowers—where he'd admittedly gone on and on about the various types of hydrangeas—they'd moved to the gazebo. It wasn't long after that his godson and tutor-ee soon found them, Jack eager to introduce Maizy to Henry.

Socially awkward as Reid was, he wasn't completely blind. He could see that Jack adored Maizy. And the feeling was clearly mutual. She was the ever patient school teacher, even as Jack asked many questions about anything and practically everything.

Reid, having believed that he'd shared the beautiful woman long enough, attempted to buy the kids off with a magic trick. But then it was Maizy who wanted to see the trick done again and again. And, for her, he was glad to perform.

He brought the coin out from behind Henry's ear to the little boy's delight. "Again," Henry exclaimed, even though he'd seen it done like ten times now.

"Wait," Maizy announced. "I think I've got it. Do you think I can try, Henry?"

The bright eyed boy nodded eagerly. Reid gave her an amused grin as she wordlessly held out her hand to him. When he put the quarter in her hand he enjoyed how his fingers brushed across her palm.

"Thank you, Spencer," she said, a twinkle in her eye.

He sat back, entertained, as he watched her mimic his hand gestures, all the while he could see the coin with every move. When she finally reached her hand back from behind Henry's ear, she unfolded her fingers to an open, empty palm. She stared down at it, confused.

"Where'd it go?" she asked out loud.

Henry shrugged his little shoulders, also confused. Reid had seen the coin accidentally slip up into her sleeve. So, when she dropped her hand to her side a second later it fell out.

Jack bent down to pick it up, handing it back to Maizy. "I don't think that's how it's supposed to go, Mrs. Tibbs," Jack told her apologetically as Reid tried to contain his grin.

"No." She smiled. "I think you're right. I don't think I'm a very good magician."

"But, Jack says you're a very good teacher," Henry quickly let her know.

She gave each boy a fond look. "Thank you."

"Hey guys, do you want to do me a favor?" Reid interrupted.

The two little ones nodded their heads emphatically.

"Can you go find your Uncle Dave and see if it's time to eat yet?"

They ran off with their task and the pair of them watched them go in silence. So far, the air hand been filled with his rambling or the sound of the little boys' chatter. He hoped that, despite not saying a whole lot, she was having a good time.

"So," she started, "that's JJ's son, your best friend?"

He nodded his head. "Best _girlfriend_," he attempted to clarify; realizing a second later what that sounded like, he tried to correct, "I mean she's my best _girl_… friend. She's uh a girl and a friend. Derek's my best boyfriend."

He just managed to contain his groan at his stumbling. Reid opened his mouth to try to correct himself again, but she put a hand on his jittering arm, stilling it. "Don't worry, Spencer, I got it."

Reid looked from her kind eyes down to where she touched him, surprised, but, pleasantly so. As if just seeing her hand suddenly there, she removed it abruptly. He looked up quickly to see she wore a confused expression, tinged in pink. But it was gone just as quick when her eyes lifted to re-meet his.

"Uh… JJ made both me and Garcia his godparents," he explained further.

"I see… and you work with Garcia too?"

"Mm hmm…"

"Wow, your friend Derek wasn't joking, you really are like a family," she said, a grin on her face. "It's just like a cop TV show."

"It's inevitable for a group of people working so closely together to develop some type of relationship. Television shows often choose to depict these relationships in a romantic nature. The will-they-or-won't-they-friendship-type premise is a popular one. It's more common, though, to develop a more brother-sister-type relationship. We often see each other as mentors—"

Reid cut himself off abruptly. Maizy was listening carefully it seemed. Oftentimes, when he made it to his second sentence people began to tune him out. She looked on; fascinated, it seemed, by what he had to say. He felt his cheeks begin to warm.

"Sorry," he murmured. "I talk a lot, especially when I'm nervous."

She gazed at him softly. "That's ok. I like listening." And then she gave him a quizzical look. "You're nervous?"

Reid answered sheepishly, "Well, yeah… I actually wanted to ask you something…"

"All right," she prompted tentatively.

"I was wondering," he began slowly, breaking eye contact. "If you'd like to um… have dinner? With me. Like on a date?"

"Oh," she said in surprise, not giving him an answer right off.

He braced himself for the oncoming rejection.

"Um… all right," she agreed.

He glanced up to eye her warily. "You'll go out with me on a date?"

She chuckled lightly, looking a tiny bit anxious herself. "Sure, I'd like that."

Reid managed to return her smile, even though his stomach was in the midst of doing some major Olympic style back flips.

"Oh wait!" she suddenly exclaimed, causing his heart to plummet.

"It's ok if you can't, really," he assured; he decided to cut her off before the inevitable excuses came along.

She surprised him by eyeing him in obvious dismay. "Oh no, I meant what I said, I'd like to have dinner with you. Only, I'll be gone for the next week. Um… can you wait a week?"

"A week?"

"Yeah, I'm leaving on Monday for Thanksgiving weekend, I'm going home. Is it all right if we have dinner when I get back?"

"Sure," he agreed, just happy that he'd gotten a yes.

The smile Maizy gave him was unmistakably affectionate. She really liked him, he mused to himself, a little taken aback by his sudden good fortune. And he had to admit that she really was something, a combination of both intelligence and prettiness… who, also, actually listened to his fact-telling. She was definitely a rare person, indeed.

"So, I can call you when I get back?" she asked to clarify.

"Oh yeah," he said quickly, starting to reach for his wallet where he kept his spare cards. "You need my number, I've got my—"

She put a hand on his arm, once again, stilling it. "Spencer, I still have the one you gave me."

"Oh right!" He chuckled nervously. He ran a shaky hand through his hair. "I'm not any good at this," he blew out in confession.

Silence followed his admission. He looked up to catch Maizy staring at him with a sympathetic look on her face. Reid could tell; she understood exactly how he felt. There was something about her that he connected with instantly.

Almost tentatively she reached across and gave his hand a quick squeeze. The move was blurring-ly fast and he would have thought he'd imagined it if it weren't for the tingling sensation left on his skin.

The brief frown on her face confused him; however, it faded away when she suddenly looked past him. He opened his mouth to comment but, she beat him to speaking first.

Smiling a strained looking smile, she said, "Jack and Henry are running back. The food must be ready."

She stood up abruptly. Reid let out a sigh, knowing she was avoiding talking about the quick moment—the touch and frown, both. He let it go, for now, hoping he'd have plenty more chances at figuring out the elusive teacher.

* * *

Maizy pushed at the various salads on her plate with her fork. She was starved, but the butterflies that currently inhabited the pit of her belly had claim over the empty space and they felt like dancing at the moment.

She knew she was making a mess of things already with Spencer. There _was_ a reason why she didn't date, after all. She was absolutely horrible at communicating, especially with the opposite sex.

A nudge at her shoulder forced her to look up from her messed up plate. Bree was giving her a huge smile. All Maizy felt like doing was glaring back. But, she caught herself just in time. She knew none of this was her friend's fault. Bree was only looking out for her. Instead, she returned her smile with a weak one of her own and then went back to staring at her uneaten food.

Maizy's anxieties were hers and hers alone. She'd been having such a good time with Jack and Spencer and the adorable Henry. And she'd been ecstatic when Spencer had asked her out, if a little nervous. All was good. It wasn't until she'd taken his hand ever so briefly, touching him freely for the third time, that her old nerves kicked in.

And then, before she could mask her emotions, she saw the look cross his face: worry that he'd done something wrong.

But it wasn't his fault. Spencer had been nothing but sweet, even after her sudden mood change. Guiding her to the picnic table that seated his friends, instead of leaving her to fend against the other strangers.

It was just hard getting past old insecurities. As much as she wanted to move on, her past would forever be a part of her.

Realizing she was being too antisocial, even more than usual, she lifted her head, determined to at least look like she was part of the group. Right away her eyes met Aaron's.

She managed to keep her face composed, even though she was surprised that his attention was on her. He'd been obviously watching her. There was a concerned look on his face. And she knew that he knew she wasn't entirely comfortable.

Maizy forced a smile to her lips. He raised an eyebrow in question. She gave a tiny shake of her head in answer, willing him to believe that she was all right. His frown, in return, told her he didn't believe it.

"So, Maizy," a voice cut off their silent conversation. She tore her eyes away from Aaron's to focus. Will LaMontagne, sitting diagonally across from her next to his wife, JJ, addressed her. "Jack can't stop telling us how great you are."

The table she sat at consisted of her, sitting on one side of the bench, with Bree and Spencer to the left and right of her. The other side had Spencer's best friend, JJ, her detective husband and Aaron. JJ and Will seemed friendly enough. And it helped that they had such an angelic son.

"Jack's a sweet boy," she replied, meeting his father's eyes briefly.

"Still," JJ took over. "Henry likes you, too. That's saying something. He doesn't get along well with new people."

That surprised Maizy; she hadn't gotten that from the child. He must have been at ease with her because of Spencer and Jack.

"Any chance you'd switch to teaching kindergarten next year?" Will put out there.

Maizy smiled politely. "Honestly, I wouldn't know what to do with such a young age. I'm not the best with little ones."

"You could have fooled me," Spencer spoke up. "You were great with Henry in the gazebo."

Bree decided to put her two cents in, too. "I see her in action every day. The kids love her, no matter what grade they're in."

Will and JJ eyed her unsurely, wondering if she was being modest for modesty's sake. She wasn't. Maizy really didn't know how to handle children that were so dependent on their adult caregivers.

Eyes still on her, she blushed furiously. She was beginning to feel the stirrings of unease at being the current topic of choice for so long.

"Oh no, really," she explained. "I do better with older children. I actually started as a high school teacher."

"Really?" JJ questioned.

Maizy's eyes inadvertently caught Aaron's. She could see the amused look on his face. She knew he was remembering the day they'd met. Her cheeks burned brighter.

"Oh yeah, that's right," Spencer said from her right. "You told me that."

Her eyes still on the dark haired man, she was surprised by the hurt look that came to his face. She frowned back, aware that the table's eyes were still on her.

"You never told me why you switched, though," the young doctor asked.

Once again she wasn't prepared for the look that crossed her student's father's face. It was almost triumphant.

"Maizy?"

She opened her mouth to respond but, Aaron beat her to it. "Oh, she didn't tell you?" Aaron said mildly.

Maizy eye's flitted back and forth between the two men sitting across from each other. "No, she told you?" Spencer replied cautiously.

The older man nodded his head. "It's because she was tired of being mistaken for one of the student's," he finished.

Maizy watched him watch Spencer with an almost smug look on his face. Shocked, she was caught off guard when the younger man turned to her. She wouldn't say he looked betrayed, but there was definitely a bit of hurt on his face. "Is that true?" he asked, tone nonchalant despite his appearance.

What was going on here? she thought morosely. Both men were staring at her expectantly. Making her feel like her next words were oh so important.

Instead of continuing to look their way, she glanced back at the parents. JJ and Will were waiting politely, if not a bit curiously, for her response.

"Um, yes, that's true," she replied, trying to inflect cheerfulness into her tone that she currently did not feel. "I mean… I'm barely five three and if I'm wearing jeans… well, apparently you can barely tell me apart from the older students…" Quickly, she added, "I mean, not unless you really take a minute to look at me…"

The table chuckled politely and Maizy decided she'd had enough for the moment.

"Uh… I'm all done eating… do any of you know if there's a washroom where I can wash my hands nearby?" she asked quickly.

JJ smiled brightly, standing up. "I'll show you."

She smiled back at the pleasant woman. "Thank you."

She got up as well, not daring a glance at the two remaining FBI agents.

* * *

Hotch made his way through the halls of his best friend's house. Maizy had not returned after excusing herself from the table. He had a feeling he knew where she was and why she'd been there for the past thirty minutes.

He'd been such an idiot back there, practically challenging Reid to a game of 'who knew Maizy best.' His reaction had not been one of a man who'd just agreed to back off. He'd been almost territorial in manner. And Maizy had surely sensed that.

He found her right where he'd expected her to be. When Rossi had brought up the fact that he had a library, he'd seen the keen interest on her face. So, he wasn't surprised to see her occupying the large room.

Hotch knew that, with no one else in sight, this was the perfect opportunity to speak with her alone.

Stepping just inside the considerably sized room, not making a sound, he took a moment to observe the woman he'd come to admire. Maizy was walking around the room, absently trailing her fingers over the spines of Rossi's many books that covered the walls, floor to ceiling. Every few steps she'd pull one out, flip it open to the inside cover. He presumed that she was reading the summary. She was turned just enough so that he could see the hint of a smile on her face, but not enough to see him.

Finally, after a few more quiet moments, as if sensing his presence, she looked up to see him standing there. In that moment she was pretty easy to read as the emotions flashed across her face. Behind her initial startle, he could see the pleasure in her eyes at the sight of him. She clearly liked it when he was around.

There was definitely something there between them; he wasn't an idiot, contrary to Dave's belief. Too bad their timing was off.

Too quickly, that pleasure faded to be replaced with actual distress. He hated that he'd been the one to cause it.

"Oh, Aaron," she started quickly, turning to replace the book she'd just picked up. "I should… I should get back downstairs…"

She rushed towards him, or rather towards the exit. He stepped aside, not wanting her to feel trapped. But he wasn't about to let her go without a word.

"So, is this how it's going to be from now on?" he questioned her retreating back. His tone came out irritated without meaning to.

She turned around slowly, eyeing him guardedly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, this, us," he replied, gesturing between them. "You're running away from me… I mean, yesterday, at school, you barely said two words to me."

"I did, too," she protested, pouting prettily.

Hotch took a step towards her; she instantaneously crossed her arms over her chest. The gesture was startlingly protective. So, he let out a sigh, taking a step back.

"Maizy," he began gently. "I like you, I do. And if you weren't—" he cut himself off, not sure this was the right way to go about this, especially when her expression turned more uneasy.

Taking a breath, he took a moment to actually think things through. Thankfully, she gave him the time, not saying anything or running off, either.

"Look, I'm sorry about before, with Reid," he tried again.

"Yeah…"

"If I made you feel uncomfortable in any way… believe me, it wasn't my intention," he apologized.

He watched her open her mouth to say something, maybe to question his intentions. If she did, he had no idea how to answer that. Instead, she closed her mouth, nodding her head once.

"I was hoping we could… get to know each other, as friends…" he added unsurely.

"Friends?" she replied warily. Hotch could see the idea playing around on her face. But something was still holding her back.

This time when he took a step forward she didn't move back or flinch. He took that as a good sign. He looked down at her fondly, surprised by how much he felt for the petite brunette in a few short weeks.

"Well, yeah, it seems like we'll have to be anyways, since you've got half my team mesmerized already." He took a calming breath before adding, "Especially Reid."

She gave him another startled look, but didn't deny it. His gut pinched at that. But if he wanted to be her friend he had to accept that she wasn't going to be his.

"Friends," she repeated again. "Aaron… Spencer asked me to have dinner with him… a date."

He wasn't quick enough to control his reaction. Emotions flashed across his face. Shock. Anger. Jealously. Maizy's dark eyes took in every bit of them, frowning deeply.

"This is just too… complicated," she muttered to herself. She let out a sigh. "Maybe I shouldn't go out with him…"

Relief was what he felt instantly, followed closely by shame. _Come on, Aaron, you had your chance, you blew it…_ Never mind that it had been the right thing to do. But saying it and believing it were turning out to be two very difficult things to follow through on. His emotions, how he felt about this woman in front of him, were ruling his actions.

The thing was, he liked her a lot. He did. And it was turning out to be very hard to let her go. But he had to. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized that letting her go to Reid wasn't a bad thing. The kid was a good guy. He would treat her as she deserved.

"I hope you're not saying that because of me," he finally said, truthfully.

"No," she answered quickly. "Why would I be?"

He went on, ignoring her denial. "Reid's a nice guy. Really. He deserves a chance."

Maizy looked shy as she said vaguely, "Spencer _is_ nice…" Her eyes lifted to meet his. "All your friends are…"

He smiled, grateful that she didn't begin to gush about all things Reid. "So, can we do it, be friends?"

She nodded her head slowly. "Yes… I'm sorry Aaron, about before… everything… if you hadn't already noticed, I'm not very good with any of this…" She waved a hand in the air.

"I'm horrible at all of it, too," he assured candidly. "And you're doing better than you think." She smiled a small smile at his praise. "Now, why don't we head back downstairs? I'm sure they're wondering where we went."

Maizy nodded once again. He placed a hand between her shoulders guiding her out of the room.

"Oh wait!" she exclaimed. "Do you think Mr.— I mean, Dave would mind lending me a book?"

Hotch shook his head. He waited for her to run back inside. When she returned he stared at the thick volume in her hands. "What is it?"

"Oh," she said in a rush. "It's an actual copy of Darwin's Origin of Species. Can you believe it?"

Ok, so maybe she and Reid had a lot more in common then he'd originally thought.

* * *

"Be sure to call me!" Penelope Garcia exclaimed. "I'll show you all the best spots in town!"

Maizy nodded her head at the enthusiastic blonde who Derek Morgan referred to as their team's Computer Goddess. She wasn't quite sure what that meant or what Penelope's actual role on the team was; she was still in disbelief that such a happy, bubbly person could be an actual agent.

"Baby girl," Derek protested good-naturedly, pulling on the woman's arm. "You've told her to call you five times. Give the girl some breathing room. She's got to go."

Penelope pouted. "You will call, right? I know the perfect place to buy scarves just like yours for cheap!"

Maizy grinned at Penelope. The woman's exuberance reminded her of Bree's.

After returning to the barbeque, Aaron had taken the time to introduce her to a few more people, which included Penelope and her boyfriend Kevin.

So far, she'd met every member of Aaron and Spencer's team and they were all very nice. Maizy understood that there had been another member, Emily, who had left for another job. From what she gathered, she was missed terribly.

Maizy was very surprised by how good a time she'd had at the gathering. Sure, it had been chalk full of awkward. But there were good moments, too. Like meeting Penelope and bonding over fashion. The quirky woman had instantly offered to show her what she was missing in D.C.'s shopping scene.

"I'll call," she reassured. "I'll be away for Thanksgiving, but when I get back…"

Penelope clapped her hands together, a gesture that screamed "yay, new friend made!" It was pretty endearing.

She wondered what it was about her that attracted friends the complete opposite to her personality. First Bree, now Penelope. She liked it, though, saved her from doing the talking, she joked to herself.

Maizy glanced past Derek and her 'new friend' to see Bree speaking with Dave. It looked like they were winding down.

"Sorry guys, looks like it's time for me to go," she commented. "It was nice meeting you all."

Derek smiled at her politely, but raised an expectant eyebrow, as he answered, "I'm sure we'll see more of you soon."

Maizy let that comment go, giving them a wave before moving past them. She made her way towards her best friend and their host.

"Maizy, sweetheart," Dave exclaimed familiarly. "I hope you had a good time."

"I did, thank you for inviting me," she responded shyly.

He patted her shoulder, the move surprisingly comforting. "Don't be a stranger."

She nodded her head, knowing that, quite possibly, she'd be heeding his words.

Her gaze travelled across the backyard to where both Spencer and Aaron were busy talking with JJ and another older looking woman with blonde hair. They caught her watching them; instead of heading over and giving them an individual goodbye that she just knew would turn pretty awkward, she gave them a general, all encompassing, wave. They each waved back and she left them with a smile before turning back to face Bree and Dave.

"So," Bree hurried on. "I'll see you Monday?"

Maizy stood off to the side to let them finish off their goodbyes. To her astonishment the process included a quick kiss. When the two parted they said one last bye and then they began to make their way back around the house, minus the butler this time around.

Instead, of commenting on the kiss she'd just witnessed, Maizy said, "Monday, huh?"

"Yeah," Bree said wondrously.

"Best day ever?" she wondered out loud.

"Definitely," her friend breathed out, still in a state of awe.

Maizy let out a little chuckle, happy for her friend. But, also for herself. She'd have to concur; it had been a great day.

* * *

Well that's it for this one. Next chapter: the return of Aunt Amanda; and we meet someone else from Maizy's past that can shed a little more light on what happened to her. Hope to have it up soon.

Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing: **nebula2** (I always look forward to reading your reviews; you always have kind things to say, but also things that make me think about where I'm going with this story. Thank you for that. So, shall I put you down for Team Reid, then? :) ); **hot4booth** (Yep, triangle is established; I'll probably ease off of it for a bit; but it will definitely be there in the background waiting to sneak back up on us when you least expect it, lol.); **AndDownTheRabbitHoleWeGo** (me either; I'm torn between the two. :) ); **and FairyT **(lol.).

Anyways, once again any comments are appreciated… Team Reid? Or Team Hotch?

:)

See ya all, soon!


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Hey all! Here's the next installment. This one gets a little intense, uncomfortably so… So, I hope you'll still like. Let me know what you think! Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** I sadly still do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 11:**

* * *

"So, let me get this straight… you've got a date with a guy," Aunt Amanda started slightly chidingly, "who's _not_ Aaron?"

Maizy shoulder checked before changing lanes, only then did she grace her dear aunt with a somewhat annoyed look. "Not a date exactly, well, not yet anyways."

Her aunt looked truly astonished by the news. They were in the midst of the hour and a half drive to Berryville, a visit Maizy truly dreaded. To add to her already increasing sense of trauma, somehow, they'd gotten on the topic of her love-life—or lack thereof. She truly could not remember how she'd let it slip that Spencer had asked her out. Her aunt was just that good—or, manipulative.

"But… but, what happened with Aaron?" The older woman would not relent. "Aaron is hot and sexy. Did you see the size of his biceps? The guy works out."

An image of Aaron from Dave's barbeque, dressed casually in a polo shirt came unbidden to her mind's eye. Yeah, she'd definitely noticed. Still… that wasn't the point.

"Aaron is a nice man—"

"Nice? Oh come on, Maizy; just let me hear you say it once. Say he's hot and I'll drop it, I swear."

She let out a bit of a long-suffering sigh. Eyeing her aunt warily, she wasn't so sure of her vow, she just looked too earnest for words.

"Promise," Aunt Amanda added.

"Fine," Maizy gave in. "Aaron _is_ hot."

"Thank you!" her aunt exclaimed triumphantly.

"_But,_" she felt the need to interject quickly, holding up a warning index finger. "That doesn't mean we're going to start dating or anything."

Amanda Jenkins snorted outright at this. "Whatever." She pouted, making Maizy wonder which occupant in her little Honda Civic was actually the one in their twenties. "So, when do I get to meet this Spencer? I met Aaron, its only fair I see what he's up against."

A wistful sounding sigh escaped her lips; she craved simpler times where she could easily dodge her aunt's questions by pretending to be out. Why oh why had she answered that call in the grocery store those few weeks ago. "If I had it my way, you would have never have even met Aaron."

Ignoring her derisive tone and comment, the homemaker continued, "So, Spencer's a doctor? Of what, exactly?"

"Well," she answered, seeing no real quick way out of this conversation. "He's got a Ph.D.—"

"Oh, he's one of those!"

"One of those what?" Maizy asked, completely exasperated. At this rate she was going to be completely exhausted by the time they reached her aunt and uncle's modest home.

"Those people who call themselves doctor. When, really, what good are they when I'm, say, choking?"

She shot her aunt a rueful look. "I'm sure Spencer knows the Heimlich maneuver… or, you know, how to dial 911."

She smiled at her own little joke, but it was lost on her aunt, apparently. The woman went silent, contemplating something. Maizy eyed her warily. A silent Aunt Amanda could be a blessing in disguise or the first sign of the imminent apocalypse. Maizy had a feeling it was the latter this time around. Either way, she was sure she did not want to know what her aunt was considering.

Maizy took the brief respite to consider her whereabouts—dealing with her aunt could be quite disorienting. She caught the exit sign to Purcellville just as she passed it quickly. Purcellville was a slightly larger town then Berryville—some 8000 people to Berryville's 3000—and was about twenty minutes away from her hometown. They were close. Her stomach twisted into instantaneous knots.

"So, he has a Ph.D.?" Aunt Amanda's voice startled her out of her thoughts.

She glanced at her, smiling slightly. "Ph.D.'s," she pluralized and then went on to list his many degrees.

"How old is he?"

Maizy had never outright asked Spencer his age. But, from what she gathered, she assumed he was young. "My age, I'd say."

"Is he some kind of genius?" her aunt scoffed.

"Yeah."

Seeing her aunt's lips form a tight line, Maizy prepared herself for what was to come next. "You're picking intelligence over hotness?"

That wasn't a fair assessment. She'd never met the young doctor. Spencer was hot in his own right.

Maizy flushed at this impromptu realization.

"Aunt Amanda," she lamented. "How do you expect me to let you meet him when you react like this?" Her aunt gave her a 'what are you talking about?' look. "Besides… what's wrong with being smart?"

"Well, what is book smarts going to do for you in the bedroom?"

"Aunt Amanda!"

"I mean, IQ can only take you so far. I'm only looking out for you, sweetie," her aunt continued on. "You're a young woman with—"

"Oh God, stop, just stop," Maizy shouted quickly, holding up her palm to her one-time guardian. "Change of subject, now!"

Instead of changing the subject, her aunt resumed her silence. And dangerous or not, Maizy welcomed the quiet moment, content to continue on in solitude.

But, the calm was not to be. And this time it was her fault. She was the one to break the stillness when some ten minutes later they passed by the Berryville's welcoming city limits sign.

She groaned out loud. God, did she not want to be here. There was a reason why her last visit to the tiny town was almost two years ago.

"Your Uncle Chris is going to be so happy to see you," her aunt stated consolingly. "You know, he jokes about not remembering what you look like."

Maizy smiled guiltily as she drove down Main Street. She was sure her uncle meant it as just that, a joke. The man was so different from her aunt. She'd missed her uncle very much; with her dad gone so much growing up, he'd become like a second father to her. In fact, many times, he was the one who would take her fishing on the weekends.

"I missed him, too," she said uncomfortably. She knew the distance between them was all her fault.

"And the boys missed you, too."

Maizy laughed. Her aunt consistently referred to her two grown children—Mason, thirty and Carter, twenty-eight—as her boys, even though Mason was married with a small family of his own and Carter owned his own plumbing business. Her cousins, just like with her uncle, were more like her older brothers.

She turned off Main Street and down the only street to get to her aunt's home. Just like she'd always done, she avoided looking at the blue house on the corner, cringing until it was well in her rearview mirror.

Her aunt dropped a hand onto her stiff arm. "Sweetheart," she said gently. "We missed you. This visit will be good for you, you'll see."

Maizy's mouth turned grim. Her eyes involuntarily flicked up to the rearview mirror, making out the lines of the corner house. _Sorry, Aunt Amanda, I seriously doubt that…_

* * *

"Come on, Maizy, it's just a quick trip into the store."

Maizy sat in the front seat of her cousin's truck. She looked at dark haired, green eyed, Mason Jenkins, cringing. He shot her a sympathetic look. "Yeah, yeah, I know… but it's just the grocery store."

She glanced at the front façade of Horton's, the biggest grocery store in all of Berryville, and that wasn't saying much. Already one day into her mini vacation and her aunt had her going out. Maizy didn't want to be here, but her aunt had known that if it were left up to her she'd stay at the house the whole time.

"The sooner we get in there, the sooner we can go home," Mason said reasonably.

"Fine." She blew out a resigned breath.

Getting out of the truck, her cousin came around and gave her a quick hug around the shoulders. "Sensible Maizy, good to have you back… Come on, I'll buy you strawberry swirl cheesecake, your favorite."

Maizy chuckled. "You mean _your_ favorite… Alyssa still on the Atkin's kick?"

They kept walking on towards the door. "Ugh, don't remind me… No, bread, ever! It's horrifying… I'm so glad mom's the one cooking Thanksgiving dinner, not Lyssa."

Maizy raised an amused eyebrow at him.

"Uh… don't tell her I said that…" he quickly added.

Laughing again, she noticed that they'd entered the store. An instant frown took over.

"Ok," Mason said loudly, pulling a cart over to her. "Here."

She took hold of the shopping cart. When he grabbed hold of another one, she asked curiously, "Your mom needs us to buy food for an army?"

"Divide and conquer," he said by way of explanation.

She was not comforted with this notion. Nonetheless, she took the half of the list after he tore it in half. And then he was on his way.

Maizy let out a sigh. "The sooner I do this, the sooner I get out," she muttered to herself, mimicking Mason's earlier words.

She threw her purse into the top basket and glanced down at the list, deciding to head to the canned goods first. Along the way, she made sure to keep her eyes down, not really wanting to attract anyone's attention. No way did she want to talk with anyone.

Several items later, she was standing in the dairy section, considering different cheeses, when a voice suddenly broke through her determined shopping haze. "Grace?"

No one but her family knew that she'd legally changed her name to Maizy the second she'd graduated high school. She did not want to talk to anyone who still called her Grace.

"Gracie Tibbs?"

_Oh God!_ she thought. Only one person had ever called her Gracie. _Anyone but him…_

She couldn't not turn around. Clearly she'd been spotted and she so didn't want to do something that would inevitably get around the small town like the last time.

Ever so slowly, she whirled around to face a man with longish blonde hair and boy-band good looks.

"I thought that was you," he said, voice way too cheerful for her comfort. He punctuated his words with a smile that made her shrink back. "How have you been?"

When she'd turned around, she hadn't really thought that she'd freeze. Why she thought that, she had no clue. Past evidence said the contrary. Seeing the curious look begin to form on his face she forced herself to respond. "Bi—Billy," she stuttered out. "Uh… good."

He waved a hand over the length of her body, she suddenly felt like covering every inch of herself. "You look good. You in town for a bit?" he continued on, oblivious to her discomfort. "God, it's been forever… you want to get a coffee with me sometime… you know, to catch up…"

Billy looked at her expectantly, piercing her with blue eyes that she'd seen numerous times since leaving Berryville—in her nightmares. Maizy worked her mouth, trying to moisten the desert-dry cavern. Her heart raced as he waited for her to say something. Her distress was acute.

"I… I…" she began, ready to give him a witty, snarky retort. Heck, at this point she'd settle for something coherent. Something like, "Not on your life," or, "If you were the last person on Earth, the answer would still be a big, fat no." Instead, this was what came out: "I… I've got to go!"

Abandoning her cart, she blindly fled the scene, heading for the grocery store's doors. All she knew was that she had to get away from that deceptively innocent smile.

Maizy raced out of Horton's, towards Mason's truck; she jumped into the driver's seat and made to turn on the car. Only then did she realize that she'd left Mason and the truck's keys inside the store. _Damn…_

Grabbing both sides of the steering wheel, she leaned forward and put her head against the cool plastic. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, to no avail. She couldn't get Billy out of her mind. Or, that is, she couldn't get the last time she'd spoken to her one and only boyfriend out of her mind, eleven years ago…

%8% ~ ~ ~

_Maizy stared off into the distance, not focusing on any one thing. She felt sick to her stomach. The doctor had said nausea would be a side effect of the anti-anxiety medication she'd prescribed to her. She almost would take the moments of panic to this constant "I want to throw up" feeling. Only almost… the panic attacks were horrible, too._

_A knock at her door unexpectedly broke the silence. She did not want to answer it. She just wasn't in the mood to see her dad or Aunt Amanda, or anyone else for that matter. Their constant looks of concern were a drain on her system. All Maizy had ever wanted in life was to be a normal teenager. She supposed, now, she'd never feel that way._

_Maizy knew, though, that if she didn't answer and it was her aunt, she'd barge in anyways. They were concerned… that she'd harm herself. However, even though she felt like hell, Maizy felt it would be a slap to her mother's face._

_Thinking about her mom, she had to blink back the sudden tears. After another moment, she answered, "Come in."_

_Her aunt, just as predicted, stuck her head inside. "Hey…" she said tentatively. "You up for a visitor?"_

_Honestly, she wasn't. But, she nodded her head, regardless. It was easier than arguing. A second later, the familiar blonde head of her boyfriend popped inside._

"_Billy?" she said in surprise, sitting up quickly; she ran a hand through her mussed up hair. Now, painfully aware of the cuts and bruises on her face._

_He gave her a smile, though it was strained. "I came to see how you're doing…"_

_He came to sit on the edge of the bed, and she instinctively drew her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them protectively. Which was ridiculous, she'd known Billy since they were kids. She used to think of him as her protector on the playground._

He didn't protect you, though, when it would have mattered the most, _a nagging voice said in her head._

"_I'm… good…" she finally replied, meekly._

_He nodded. "I'm sorry about your mom."_

_It'd been two weeks since she'd been killed and yet it still hurt so much. She couldn't say anything; she needed to concentrate on breathing._

"_We still can't believe…" Billy started hesitantly. "I mean… he was Coach, you know…"_

_No, she did not want to think about _him_, she thought vehemently._

"_We can't believe he'd do that… are you sure… are you sure you didn't want to…"_

Oh God, was he asking what she thought he was asking?_ She looked at the stranger before her, at the boy she suddenly did not know._

"_I mean you always dressed—" he cut himself off abruptly when he looked at her face._

_She didn't know what he saw there, but she knew it must have been a sight if how she was feeling was any indication._

"_Anyways," he stood up, "I'm glad you're feeling better. Happy Birthday, Gracie." He placed a small bag at her feet and then was gone._

_%8% ~ ~ ~_

Maizy had never opened that present, never even touched it with her skin. She'd used her sleeve to toss it in the trash. And that was the last she'd spoken to Billy Robertson. When she'd gone back to school the following week he'd had a new girlfriend, not that she had cared anymore. It was the whispers that had gotten to her.

"Hey," a voice startled her.

Maizy jumped and looked to her left. Mason was standing there, looking worried. He opened the door and said, "Scoot over."

She did as told, not meeting his eye. They sat in silence until he placed her purse in her lap. "You forgot this inside."

Her eyes widened at the sight. _Crap!_

"Who was it?" he asked simply.

"Uh… Billy… Billy Robertson," she managed to say.

Her cousin let out a few choice curses, starting the truck. He pulled out his cellphone, dialing a number.

"Hey Carter, you're on grocery duty, get the list from mom," he said into the phone. "I'm bringing Maizy home… No, she's all right… Billy… yeah, I know. Look, we'll talk later… All right, bye."

"I'm sorry, Mason…"

"Hey," he said adamantly. "_You_ never have anything to be sorry for."

* * *

Upon arriving at home, Maizy was immediately confronted by her Aunt Amanda, but also Mason's wife, Alyssa, and their two year old daughter, Rose. They'd said that they just happened to be in the neighborhood, but she knew what really had happened. Mason had called Carter; Carter had called his mom, who had promptly called her daughter-in-law. Maizy didn't doubt that her Uncle Chris would have been present, too, if he hadn't been at the local high school, teaching.

They were all worried about her, but they did their best to cover it up. On her part, she did her best to appear unaffected, trying to be pleasant while the blue eyed, blonde Alyssa talked about Rose's latest adventures.

Eventually, the non-incident with Billy won out; it had shaken her more than she thought. So, she'd begged off the rest of the visit, so that she could lie down instead.

Entering her room, she still marveled at how the same it looked. Every detail was exactly as she'd left it when she'd left for college eight years ago. Down to the purple and pink floral bed spread she'd picked out with her father when it was decided that she'd move in with Aunt Amanda and Uncle Chris after her mother's death.

Maizy lay down on top of the bed spread, tracing the flowers with her fingers. God, she hated this town. Just being in it brought back horrible memories. Memories of her mother and her death and all that happened before. Being in Berryville meant not being able to avoid thinking about it. Everywhere she went there was something to remind her of how one night she'd become the victim of a terrible crime.

%8% ~ ~ ~

_Maizy sat at her dressing table, staring at her fifteen year old reflection. She turned her head left and right, noting the few freckles here and there, the straight slant to her small nose and the waves of dark hair that fell around her face. She wondered when she turned sixteen if she'd look any different._

_She stood up abruptly, frowning at herself in the mirror, and then sat back down. _I hope I get taller,_ she thought to herself._

_Her sixteenth birthday was just three short days away. She was lucky, this year it actually fell on a Saturday. And Billy had made reservations at Verona, the only fancy Italian restaurant in town. She couldn't wait. She'd even bought a new dress for the occasion._

_Standing up once again, she swished her small hips side to side, enjoying the crisp sound the white skirt of the dress made with her movements. It was a simple dress, knee length, sleeveless, with a modest collar, but it was beautiful._

"_Practicing poses for when you see Billy on Saturday?" a voice said, amused._

_She glanced up in the mirror to see, Taylor Redford, her stepfather, watching her from the doorway._

_Maizy turned in her seat, facing her mom's husband, a smile on her face. "Yeah, I guess," she answered shyly. "He's taking me to Verona's."_

_Taylor stepped inside her room, giving an impressed whistle. "The kid's got good taste… bet he's got something else planned, too."_

_She had no clue what he meant by that so she let it go. "I told him he didn't have to go to all the trouble, but… he said he'd do anything for me…"_

_She blushed, thinking about how much she cared about Billy._

"_Billy's a smart kid both on and off the field," Taylor mused. He took a step forward, surprising Maizy by reaching a hand out to touch her face. "You're beautiful, Grace. You deserve to be treated well, you just let me know if Billy's not treating you right and I'll take care of him for you, all right."_

_Maizy gulped down her abrupt anxiety. She took a step away from him, turning her back on him, to glance in the mirror, hoping he'd take the hint and go. "No, no he's great."_

_But, it didn't work; a second later Taylor was stepping up behind her. This time settling his hands on her bare shoulders. They started to move up and down her arms and she was beginning to feel more and more uncomfortable with the man that had married her mother two years ago._

"_Good," he said, bending down to whisper in her ear. "You're a young woman now and need to be treated like one…"_

_His hands darted forward, to places she'd never been touched before. She jerked away from him, whirling around; she backed up, hitting her dressing table. "What are you doing?" she accused._

"_Grace, honey, I just want to treat you the way you deserve," he replied, inching towards her._

_She scrambled to her right, hitting her bed, hard. "My mom's going to be home soon…"_

_Her heart racing, Maizy knew that it was actually another hour until her mom's shift at the clinic was over. But, she hoped mentioning her would bring him back to his senses._

_Taylor checked his watch. "Nah uh, we're home alone for another hour, Grace, plenty of time to show you a thing or two I'm sure Billy couldn't..."_

_The next thing Maizy knew, he was rushing her. She attempted to run for the door, but he grabbed her first, somehow throwing her onto the bed. When she tried to get to her feet, he was there again, coming to straddle her small body._

"_Stop," she yelled. "Somebody, help me!" Her arms flailed against him, until he grabbed her wrists in one large hand._

_She screamed even louder, but that's when he hit her across the side of her head, putting her into an instant fog._

_He let go of her hands then and she tried again to push him off her. When his hand was suddenly on her thigh, she protested, but her pleas went unheeded._

_The next few minutes were a blur of pain and shock. When she heard a scream, sometime later, she realized that this time it wasn't her. There, standing in the doorway, was her mother._

"_Mom," she cried out. "Help me!"_

_The look of pure anguish on her face was the last thing she'd ever seen on her mom's face. The next thing Maizy knew, her mom was rushing her stepfather, tackling him off of her._

"_Go," her mother yelled. "Run, get help!"_

_%8% ~ ~ ~ _

Maizy let out a shaky breath. Her hand skimmed over her face, feeling the wetness on her cheeks. It wasn't a memory she could ever remember without tears.

She'd run straight out of the house and down the four blocks to her aunt's house. Thank God, they'd been home. Aunt Amanda had taken her inside; wrapping her in her arms, assuring her everything would be all right. But they wouldn't be.

By the time they'd gotten to her house, her mother was dead, killed in the struggle. And her stepfather would be on the run for a month before the police caught him. And after all that, Maizy had to endure a trial that dredged it back up and kept her in the public eye.

It had been hard to be normal when she became the sixteen year old girl, raped by the town's beloved high school coach. The girl, that some still believed, had provoked the 'good' man into attacking her.

After all that, Maizy found it pretty reasonable to hate the place she'd grown up in. The place she'd been stuck in until she got away to college.

She sat up in bed, hating feeling like this, like a victim all over again. She did not want to think about it anymore. She needed a distraction, preferably of the kind who did not know about her awful past.

She scrambled for the phone in her pocket, pressing in the first numbers that came to mind. It rung several times, before…

"Hello," came Aaron's deep voice.

She breathed out a sigh of relief at hearing him. "Aaron, hi—"

"You've reached Aaron Hotchner, I'm not…"

It was his voicemail, she realized dejectedly. When the beep came, she considered, momentarily, asking him to call her back, but she hung up instead.

She missed him. It had been two days since the barbeque and she had the urge to see him again or, at the very least, to hear his voice. Maizy thought about trying him again, but she didn't want to come off as desperate, especially since all she was to him was her son's teacher… or, now, his friend.

Maizy stared at the screen of her phone still feeling the need to talk to someone. Almost of their own volition, her fingers pressed buttons into the screen and this time as she waited through the dial tone it was with held breath.

"Maizy?"

Letting out a sigh, she replied shakily, "Spencer."

* * *

"Uncle Spencer," Jack cut him off, mid-sentence. "Can we take a break?"

Reid looked at the little boy in surprise. He'd just been in the middle of attempting to explain what exactly it meant to borrow during subtraction. Reid was a huge supporter of learning the why of doing something. But his young charge looked like he was in pain.

He glanced at the clock on the stove top; they'd been at it for a solid hour. Enough math, he thought, for one day. However, Reid knew that Jack quite possibly had other homework to accomplish this Thanksgiving break. He was also a firm supporter of getting things done early.

Looking at that pleading face of the youngest Hotchner, he could not bring himself to suggest more work. Besides, Hotch would be back soon, anyways. His boss had been working late and asked if Reid could pick up the boy from his Aunt Jessica's before their first tutor session. And Reid had gladly agreed.

"Why don't we call it a night? You did well, Jack," Reid finally answered. It was true; Jack seemed to make some slight progress today. Despite his learning disability, he could tell Jack was a smart boy.

The little boy beamed with the praise as he rushed out of the kitchen. Reid watched him go, an amused smile on his face. He cleaned up the different math implements he'd been using to teach Jack two digit subtraction. He wondered vaguely if he should see if Hotch had anything ready for dinner, but just as he was going to the freezer he heard the front door open and close.

"Jack, Reid!" Hotch's voice came from the living room. "I'm home."

Reid left the kitchen and met his boss in the living room. "Hey," he greeted.

Hotch had a grimace on his face. "Hey. Thanks for picking up Jack for me. Struass decided to call a budget meeting, last minute."

Reid nodded in understanding. "Jack and I are finished for today."

"Oh?"

They went on to discuss what he and the eight year old had accomplished. Hotch seemed pleased, which was good.

"Thanks again, Reid," Hotch stated gratefully. "Want to stay for dinner? We're ordering pizza."

Reid considered this for a moment, when his phone suddenly rang. He pulled the piece of technology from his pocket, glancing at the screen.

"Who is it?" Hotch asked curiously.

Reid glanced up to catch his furrowed brow. "It's Maizy…" He glanced back down. "Uh… Hotch, I'll take a rain-check, if that's ok."

He didn't wait for an answer; he was already turning for the door. He answered on his way out. "Maizy?"

"Spencer," he heard her breathe out his name. She sounded a bit like she'd just been running a marathon.

"Are you all right?" he asked quickly, concerned, shutting the door behind him. "What's wrong?"

She laughed, but it came out nervous. "Nothing… everything's fine…"

He frowned. She did not sound all right. She sounded flustered and uncomfortable. "Maizy…" he drew out.

"Fine… it's just this town… and my family… you know how it is with the holidays…" she replied, groaning.

He grimaced. He felt like she wasn't telling him the whole story, but didn't want to press her. "I know."

"And I… I just wanted to… you know, talk to someone sane…"

Reid grinned at the irony of that statement. On more than one occasion, he'd wondered over his own sanity. It was nice to know that she thought he was perfectly not crazy.

He started on a tangent, talking about where the term sane or sanity derived from. It was five minutes later that he recognized he'd been talking the whole time.

When he paused, waiting for her to say something he was surprised when she said, "It's nice to hear your voice…"

"Uh… you're… welcome…" he said awkwardly.

She laughed. "Any chance you'd like to come to Berryville and be my buffer against my _Non compos mentis _family and town?"

He smiled, she'd been listening to his tangent, he realized. "I would love to be your buffer…" He let out a sigh. "But, I'm visiting my mom in Vegas for the holiday…"

"Oh," she said, cheerfully. "Your mom lives in Las Vegas?"

"Yeah, it's where I grew up," he confided.

"Wow, that's pretty cool and I bet it's nothing like Berryville…"

"Not unless you're the little city version of Sin City?" he joked.

He could hear the smile in her voice. "Nope, the word stripper isn't in any of our dictionaries…"

Reid laughed. "Can I take a rain-check on that visit to Berryville?" he asked seriously.

"It's open ended…" she assured. A moment later, he heard her let out a content sounding sigh. "Thanks for talking to me, Spencer… it helped."

"No problem."

He hung up the phone, only then did he turn on his car, heading home for the night.

* * *

Well that's it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed. I know it was a lot on the OC side of things, but it was a necessary chapter to move the plot along. I hope you still enjoyed. So, now you know what happened to Maizy to make her so socially awkward… anyone see that coming?

Anyways, more to come soon; for those few Maizy/Hotch fans (like myself, lol) we'll get back to scenes between these two in the next chapter. Also, I've got a great Morgan/Reid scene planned, also for the next chapter. As well as the Maizy/Reid date. So, lots to come, here's hoping I'll have lots of time to write it all.

Thanks again to anyone who's been reading and alerting, and thanks to those reviewing: **Guest; hot4booth** _(I'm torn, too, lol);_ **EnlightenedElementalWarrior** _(lol, poor Hotch)_; **Sue1313** _(Thx for taking the time to review all the chapters);_ **nebula2** _(Hotch's small role in this chapter was to appease your muse, lol, he hopes he has behaved himself accordingly, though he can't make any promises on his future actions. :) hope you enjoyed!);_ **and Maryh.**

I hope you all will let me know what you think of this latest chapter. Thanks!

So, attempting to keep this post A/N brief, but failing, I've got one last message from Chit Chat on Author's Corner Forum:

**THE AWARDS SEASON HAS COMMENCED! Nominations have opened for the third annual Profiler's Choice Awards for Criminal Minds' fandom! Please visit Chit Chat on Author's Corner forum for the nomination ballot, rules and guidelines and category definitions. Please review ALL information BEFORE submitting your nomination ballot. ****Nomination ballots must be received by October 15, 2012. Fics for consideration must have appeared on the CM section of between September 1, 2011, and August 31, 2012 (see rules for full details.)**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Hey all. Sorry for the wait on this one. I've had this chapter planned out for a bit, I just had a hard time getting it on paper right. Hope it turned out ok. Anyways, I hope you enjoy and that you'll take the time to let me know what you think. Thanks!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 12: **

* * *

"Ok, buddy, teeth all brushed?" Hotch questioned his eight year old, giving him a shrewd eye.

"Yep." Jack opened his mouth, showing off his small teeth. Hotch chuckled at his son's antics.

"All right, hop into bed so I can tuck you in." He waited off to the side as Jack did as told. And then he proceeded to bring the blankets up high around his son's chin, getting a giggle out of him.

"There," Hotch finished, leaning down to kiss his forehead. "Night."

"Good night, dad."

Hotch shut off the light, making sure the night light was on—Jack still wasn't comfortable in the dark—before closing the door behind him.

He let out an exhausted sigh before making his way back to his living room. Since getting home, practically seconds before Reid had rushed out, he'd been going non-stop. Ordering pizza, checking Jack's progress with his homework, asking about his day, eating dinner and then watching a bit of TV with his son. It was all done seemingly rapid-fire and he had not had a moment to spare to think about the genius's hasty exit, or, more precisely, what had caused the exit.

Now that Jack was in bed, he could properly think about what had happened. Reid had been here. Maizy had called. And then he was gone. What was concerning to him wasn't the fact that he'd abruptly left; it was that he'd heard Reid asking Maizy if something was wrong. You didn't ask a person that if they sounded fine.

Hotch was worried about her. She'd basically admitted to him at Dave's barbeque that she hated her hometown. And it didn't take a profiler to connect her dislike of Berryville with whatever had happened to her. So, now he was doubly concerned about her after hearing the phone call.

Yes, he was concerned about her, but what could he do. He was in D.C., she was in Berryville. He felt at a loss until a thought suddenly struck him upside of the head.

_You could call her! Oh… right…_ Hotch felt a bit sheepish at his lack of foresight.

He pulled out his cell phone and touched the screen to get it to come to life. He was immediately met with a missed call message. And he suddenly remembered that it had rung several times while he was pulling onto his street.

Hotch wondered at who it could be before checking.

"Maizy?" he murmured out loud.

He stared at the screen, struck at seeing her name there. And then what it meant that she'd called him came to him. She must have called him first. That, once again, left him staring off in wonder.

_What did it mean? That she'd called him first… Did it mean… did it mean that she still—_

He stopped that train of thought dead in its tracks. She was still Jack's teacher and they were still trying to be friends. He did not need his forbidden feelings clouding his judgment right now. No, what it all really meant was that Maizy had been looking to talk to someone. She'd tried him and he hadn't picked up. He hadn't been there for her.

"Some friend I am…" he muttered under his breath, angry at himself, even though he knew it was irrational.

Still, he wished he hadn't missed her call. He felt like he'd let her down. Worse, the irrational part of him was mad that Reid _had_ answered.

He let out a frustrated sigh, shaking his head at himself. Jealousy was an ugly thing and he had no right to feel that way.

So, the question he had to ask himself now was: Should he call her?

In light of all the new information, he thought maybe he shouldn't. Maybe she'd been panicked and needed someone to calm her down. If Reid had succeeded, well, he didn't want to re-hash it just so he'd feel better about himself.

For now, he'd let her be, and maybe he'd call her tomorrow just to talk. To his friend.

* * *

Reid glanced into his open suitcase one last time, making sure he'd remembered to pack everything for his visit with his mother. He didn't require much more than the basics, but a few books were essential, and the gift he had for his mom—When We Were Very Young, a book of poems by A.A. Milne, a first edition—were priority. His suitcase all settled, he zipped it up, rolling it behind him as he entered his kitchen.

There, sitting at his island, was Morgan, one of Reid's granola bars in hand, unwrapped. He was flipping through a book he'd left out on the counter. And from the looks of it, flipping was all he was doing.

"How you read this stuff for fun, I'll never know," quipped Morgan.

Reid let out a sigh. "You're eating my granola bars. Why are you always eating my food? Don't you have any of your own?"

Morgan looked up from the book, shutting it unseeingly. He took a big bite of the bar before speaking. "Nope."

Reid rolled his eyes. "Ready?"

His friend checked his watch. "What's the rush? We'll make it."

Morgan was going to drive them both to the airport after picking up Garcia first. Reid was visiting his mom in Vegas, while Morgan and Garcia planned on meeting Emily in Chicago, where they'd spend thanksgiving with his family. But none of that would happen if they were late.

Reid checked his own watch, frowning. "Well, we've got to pick up Garcia first. And if we leave now, we'd cut out about ten minutes off our commute time. But, if we wait a little longer, it'll be rush hour and we'll add another—"

Morgan held up his hand for him to stop. "All right, all right, let's go. _Sheesh_."

The older agent turned towards the door, allowing Reid his grin of triumph. He had to school his features when Morgan turned back around promptly. He gave him a suspicious look, but Reid took a page out of Hotch's book and remained stoic.

As they headed for the elevators, Morgan surprised him by asking, "So when's the big date?"

Caught totally off guard, Reid blushed furiously. Pushing the button, he avoided eye contact when he replied, "Oh uh… not sure yet. She's in her hometown for the next week."

"Good," Morgan declared outright. "Gives you time to plan something real good."

They stepped into the elevator. Reid gave his friend a amused look. "I already have."

Morgan groaned, startling Reid again. "What is it?"

Reid shot his friend an unfazed eyebrow. "I'm taking her to dinner first. And then the National Museum of Natural History has a special exhibit on Natural Selection."

"Reid," Morgan lamented as they headed outside. "Maizy's not you. How do you know she's going to be into that?"

Rounding on Morgan's SUV, Reid replied, "I think she will. Rossi told me he lent her his copy of 'On the Origin of Species'."

His friend gave him a baffled look, so he added, "Written by Charles Darwin."

"That evolution dude?"

"Yes." They got into the car and Reid offered up a broader explanation. "He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors. He proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process called natural selection, where the struggle for existence has a similar effect to the artificial selection involved in selective breeding."

Hands on the steering wheel, Morgan stared at him blankly, so Reid conceded, "Yes, that evolution dude."

Morgan let out a sigh. "And you're sure Maizy would be into that kind of thing?"

"Positive. She has a BSc. in Biology on top of her education degree," he informed.

Morgan shook his head in wonder. "Thank God for Maizy…" He turned on the car, ready to pull out of his building's parking lot when Morgan's phone unexpectedly rang.

Reid saw the frown on his face. "Who is it?"

He didn't answer, letting the long-suffering sigh he let out do the talking for him. He clicked the phone to life. "Yeah, Hotch… all right… Reid's with me… we're on our way… Ok." He hung up.

"Case?"

"Yep."

Reid let out a sad sigh. So much for seeing his mom.

* * *

Hotch let out an annoyed breath as he sat on the plane, waiting for his team to arrive. He hated that he'd had to call them in on such short notice, especially since he knew that all of them minus-Rossi had distinct plans. But Strauss had insisted that they were the only available team. And the case was pretty urgent. A child killer on the loose, with a new boy just being abducted. And based on the previous victims, Hotch knew that they had a small window of time before the boy would end up dead.

"And a Happy Thanksgiving to you, too," Rossi stated bitterly as he entered the plane's cabin.

Hotch grimaced. "If we can solve this fast we might be able to get back in time for some turkey." They had four days. It was possible. "I thought you didn't have plans for the holiday?"

Rossi grinned. "I didn't, but Bree invited me to dinner at her parent's."

Hotch quirked a surprised eyebrow at him. Rossi had known Bree for a shorter time than he'd known Maizy. And that was short. He would give the man the benefit of the doubt, considering his strong feelings for Jack's teacher, but this was Rossi. Hotch knew him. "Isn't that kind of fast? Besides, I thought you don't do the meeting the parent's thing anymore?"

"I like Bree," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "And, you know, it helped to know that her parents own and live on a vineyard."

Hotch chuckled. "Of course…"

"What about you?" Rossi asked unexpectedly. "Are you planning on seeing Maizy this weekend?"

He frowned. "You know I'm not going to pursue her. In fact, we decided to be friends."

"A mistake," his friend said simply.

Hotch didn't feel like arguing so he let it go. "Anyways, she's in Berryville, Virginia right now." Rossi gave him a curious look. "Her hometown," he clarified.

"Ah… I see," he said. "You know, if we don't make it home in time I might just throw a post-Thanksgiving bash. I'll invite Bree and you can invite Maizy…"

Hotch shrugged his indifference. Truthfully, he'd enjoy seeing her again in a more social setting. "She called me last night…" he found himself saying.

"Maizy?"

"Yeah."

"What did she say?"

"I was driving. I couldn't pick up," he said, his annoyance at himself seeping through.

"So, call her back?" Rossi said logically.

"By the time I figured out she called me, she'd already called Reid. I just hope she's all right."

"Who's all right?"

Hotch turned around to see Reid and Morgan walking into the cabin. Rossi threw him a questioning look. There was no reason to keep it from him. "Maizy."

"Maizy?" Morgan asked, frowning.

"Yeah, she told me before she left that she wasn't a fan of her hometown," Hotch offered.

Reid took a seat across from him. "That would explain the phone call I got last night."

This was his chance to see if she was ok. "Oh?"

"I think she felt overwhelmed," Reid informed. "She just needed to talk to someone."

"And she phoned you? Nice," Morgan announced, giving him a congratulatory pat on the shoulder.

Hotch noticed the pointed look that Rossi sent his way, the one that said, 'yeah, but she tried you first.' And then Rossi shot Morgan a smug, knowing smile.

Hotch frowned. He hated this. It felt like a competition. It wasn't. Reid was free to pursue her and he wasn't. And that was that.

"So, thanksgiving, huh?" Rossi cut the sudden tension.

"Yeah, it sucks," Morgan remarked sullenly.

And with that they moved on to case talk.

* * *

Maizy rinsed off the dishes one by one, enjoying the solitude of her aunt's quiet kitchen. Everyone was in the living room, dealing with the post-turkey lethargy. She'd offered to do the dishes, hoping for some time alone where no one gave her the occasional worried look.

After abruptly leaving the grocery store the other day, she'd gradually put it behind her. But her aunt and uncle, and even her cousins, continued to walk on eggshells around her. It was exhausting. This was one reason why she'd avoided coming home. She just wanted to be treated like a normal girl.

_For that to happen, Maizy, you got to act normal…_ a voice chided in her head.

She supposed the voice was right. Running out of Horton's from your ex-boyfriend did nothing for her normal image. She let out a long-suffering sigh, turning off the tap.

Maizy dried her hands off and then turned for the door, ready to join her family. Uncle Chris wanted to show her his new tackle box; they were going to go fishing the next day, before she headed home. But before she could exit the kitchen, Alyssa entered with more dishes. She tried to take them from her, but she refused.

"I can do them, don't worry," Alyssa said pleasantly.

Maizy smiled at her. She was older than Maizy by a year and she was the closest thing to a friend she had around here. In school, along with her cousins, Alyssa had taken to becoming her buffer against the other student's. For that, she'd always be grateful. She also made Mason happy, which was a plus for her character.

When Maizy turned to go, Alyssa quickly asked, "Keep me company?" She was smiling brightly, no sign of worry or concern on her face, and there weren't a lot of dishes, so she nodded.

Maizy leaned her back against the counter.

"So," her cousin-in-law began. "How's D.C.?"

Maizy gave her a quizzical look, considering that she'd already asked her this question, she thought it odd. "Fine. A bit chilly these days, but I like it." She didn't add that it was home and she actually loved it. She got the feeling her family didn't really enjoy hearing how she considered someplace else home. Even though the feeling had nothing to do with them, really.

"And work? You really enjoy working with those brats?" Alyssa asked jokingly.

Maizy laughed. "I like it. The kids are so different from the teenagers I used to teach. They adore you, whereas the teenagers see you as their enemy sometimes. It's a completely different learning environment in elementary school, too. Most of the kids are so eager to learn. It makes me wonder—"

She stopped short, seeing the amused look on Alyssa's face. She was babbling again. She closed her mouth abruptly, awaiting Alyssa's next question or comment.

"I hear it isn't just the kids who adore you," her old friend said slyly.

Maizy couldn't help it, she blushed furiously. "Where um… did you hear that?" she stalled.

"Amanda."

Of course, her dad's sister could not keep any news of any kind to herself whatsoever. Funny, she never remembered her dad being such a blabbermouth. Quite the opposite, actually.

"So… what's this I hear about a tall, dark, and handsome man?" she prompted.

Figures she'd tell Alyssa about Aaron, despite all her claims that they were just friends. "There's nothing really to tell, he's the father of one of my student's…"

"So? He won't always be."

"What do you mean?" Maizy asked, confused.

"I mean… it's not like you'll be teaching his son next year," Alyssa stated logically.

She had a point. But the new school year was a long ways away. It was only November.

"You like him," she said matter-of-fact.

She thought about Aaron, all the meetings and moments they'd shared so far. She couldn't deny that there was a certain electricity between them, there since the moment they'd met.

"Yeah. He's great," she said, an understatement. But she didn't know how else to describe him without gushing. "But, it doesn't matter. We decided to be friends. And, besides, I have a date with someone else."

"Oh?" she asked.

Maizy went on to describe Spencer, giving her friend the basics. How sweet he seemed, how cute he was especially when he went off on a tangent. She liked listening to him talk. He was so smart and interesting. And yet it wasn't just his brain she was attracted to. When she was around him things felt easy. Much different than when she was with Aaron. Spencer was sweet and caring without being complicated. Not that Aaron was complicated, but a relationship with him would be.

"Wow," Alyssa said when she finished. "And we were worried that all you do is sit at home."

Maizy didn't comment on that, up until a month ago, that _was_ all she did.

"So you like Spencer?"

"Yes."

"But you care about Aaron."

"Yeah, but that doesn't—" she protested.

Alyssa cut her off. "Hon, friends or not, you still have feelings for him. Be careful with Spencer. I don't know him, but he sounds like a guy who doesn't deserve to be hurt."

"You think I'd hurt him?" Maizy asked, aghast at the thought. She thought about how he'd picked up the other night and just talked to her, comforted her with just the sound of his voice. She cared about him, too. Hurting him was the last thing she ever wanted to do.

"Not on purpose, Maizy," Alyssa answered, leaving the rest hanging.

But, she could if she continued to think about Aaron… that's what she was saying. "What do you think I should do?"

Alyssa let out a sigh. "Honestly?" Maizy nodded her head emphatically. "I have no clue."

Maizy's face fell. Alyssa turned off the tap, drying her hands off before putting her hand on her shoulder.

"If Aaron wasn't the father of one of your students I'd be saying go for it. But, I'm guessing his son being in your class is one of the reasons you remain friends?"

"Yeah…" It was a big reason. The other being that she still didn't know if her school board would have allowed for any relationship.

"So, maybe it's best you two keep your distance then… And try things out with Spencer. Give him a chance…"

Maizy nodded. She was more than willing to give him a chance. He was a cute, albeit awkward, guy. But really, she was an awkward girl, so they were pretty evenly matched.

"I'm happy for you though," Alyssa surprised her by saying.

"You are?" she replied, confused.

"Mm hmm… Don't take this the wrong way, but the last couple of times you've come home, you seemed well… isolated. I was worried about you."

Maizy let out a sigh. She knew that it wasn't just Alyssa.

"It's been eleven years—" Alyssa emphasized, but the look on Maizy's face must have halted her. "Anyways, I'm just happy to hear you're seeing um… people."

Alyssa gave her an awkward smile and moved past her. Maizy watched her retreating back. She couldn't let such a helpful conversation end so uncomfortably.

"Alyssa!" she called out. When she turned around, she added, "Thanks."

* * *

Reid looked around at the gathered officer's; they'd just finished giving the profile. Now they needed to figure out their next move. Hotch had asked him and Blake to go take a look at the first crime scene now that they had a working profile. So, they were just about to leave to do that, when his phone suddenly rang.

He paused mid-step, pulling it out of his pocket. He wasn't about to take the call, but when he saw Maizy's name on the screen he had to re-consider, worried that she was in the same mood she'd been in the last time he'd talked to her.

"You coming?" Blake threw over her shoulder.

"Uh… yeah…" he hesitated. "Why don't you bring the car around the front, I'll um… meet you there."

She gave him a quizzical look, but he didn't wait for her to answer; he stepped into a nearby empty conference room, flipping open his phone quickly.

"Maizy, hi," he said breathlessly.

She chuckled. "Hi Spencer, is this a bad time?"

"No… uh…no," he replied quickly, voice kind of squeaky.

"You're lying," she replied. He could hear the smile in her voice.

He smiled too. "Yeah, uh sorry. I'm on a case in Orlando."

"Florida," she asked rhetorically. "So, no thanksgiving with your mom, then?"

"Nope."

"All right… well, I'll let you go back to work. I'm just calling to let you know, I'm back…"

"Our date!" he exclaimed. "Right. I've uh… I've got it all planned out. It's just… I'm not sure when I'll be back…"

"It's all right, Spencer. I can wait," she assured.

"Really?" he asked with some surprise.

She chuckled. "Yes, really. _I_ happen to think you're worth the wait…" she said with obvious affection.

He blushed out right, unsure of what to say. "Uh… ok… thanks…" he stumbled. "I should go."

"Ok."

"But uh… you're all right?" he wanted to make sure.

"Yeah, I'm great." Again he could hear the smile in her voice, it warmed him. "Be safe."

"I will."

* * *

Well that's it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed. Hope to have the next chapter up soon. I've got a Maizy/Hotch phone call, Rossi's post-thanksgiving bash to be held at his cabin, and the Maizy/Reid date all planned for the next chapter.

Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing: **nebula2** (_hope you enjoyed the Morgan/Reid part. Thx!);_ **Ecda** _(yay, someone's for team hotch, lol. Thx!)_; **2amWritersClub** _(lol. Thx!);_ **Guest** _(Thx for the review!);_ **and hot4booth** _(thanks so much for the review and the nomination)._

Oh and got some great news last week. Four of my stories are up for five awards in the 2012 Profiler's Choice Awards up on the forum Chit Chat On Author's Corner. Just wanted to say thanks to anyone who may have nominated this fic, or any of my other ones. Final voting is taking place right now; I hope you'll take a second to check out all the amazing fics that were nominated.

Well, see ya guys, hopefully soon!


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Hey all! Sorry for the wait; meant to have this out a lot earlier than this, but well, you know, so much to do, so little time… Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter and that you'll let me know what you think. Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 13: **

* * *

Hotch almost couldn't believe that he was currently sitting at his desk contemplating doing what he'd been thinking about doing since they'd returned.

The team had just gotten back from the Thanksgiving ruining case in Florida. Everyone had gone their separate ways, but not before Rossi had the chance to announce the big party that he'd decided to have after all at his cabin the next weekend. Not only was Dave promising a hot thanksgiving turkey dinner but, in his own words, "a weekend extravaganza" as well. Somehow, he'd cleared the time off with Strauss; there would be no case interruptions this time around. The only thing any of them had to do was invite guests.

Hotch assumed that most of them would be bringing a significant other. Garcia had Kevin, and JJ had Will. They would surely come, along with Henry of course. Emily apparently was in town, after the failed holiday trip she'd planned to have in Chicago with Morgan and Garcia. Hotch assumed they'd be seeing her there that weekend to, as long as she didn't have to leave. He would invite Jessica, knowing Jack didn't feel right in spending the holidays away from his aunt. And Rossi now had someone of his own; new as his relationship was with Bree, he'd already gotten her acceptance.

Rossi had left the BAU with the parting words "You better be inviting her, Aaron." Dave didn't need to specify who 'her' was, he knew. The older man wanted him to invite Maizy. And that's what he was doing there, still in his office while everyone was long gone. He was going to do it. He was about to call her.

A small part of him caused him to hesitate, to wonder at if inviting her to a weekend away to a cabin was the friendly thing to do. Probably not, he mused. But it wasn't like it would just be the two of them or anything, there'd be ten or so people, plus Jack. Jack would serve as a great reminder of the friendship they'd vowed. Nothing dangerous would happen between them as long as they had Jack around.

That settled it; his fingers dialed her number at the school. The day had ended about an hour ago, but past experience told him she'd still be there.

"Hello?" he heard her say quickly into the phone. "Miss Tibbs speaking."

"Maizy," he replied. "Hi, it's Aaron."

"Aaron," she said with warmth that reached out to him. Just the sound of her voice had his heart beating.

_Just friends,_ he had to mentally scold himself. "Hey, how was your thanksgiving?" he asked, making small talk even though he silently hoped she'd let him in on whatever had caused her to phone both him and Reid that night.

"It was good," she answered quickly. Her voice didn't give anything away and he almost sighed out his disappointment. "How about yours?"

He let it go realizing that wasn't a conversation for right now. "Didn't happen."

"Oh, that's right; Spencer said you had a case in Florida, right?"

She'd already talked to Reid? So, maybe, he'd asked her to Dave's thing already. Still, he was one who assumed nothing.

"Yes, we just got back today. None of us got to enjoy the holiday…" he offered.

"That's too bad." He heard her breathe out a sigh. "For what it's worth, Jack seemed ok back at school this week."

He smiled. She'd figured out that he worried about his son and how his job affected him. She knew him well. "Thank you, it does. I think he understands… about what I do, but still, I wonder sometimes."

"I think he understands that… you're wonderful," she blurted out. She quickly attempted to backtrack, putting an amused smile on his face. "I mean… uh… he thinks you're wonderful, I mean what you do is— Not that I don't think you're… uh great…"

Hotch chuckled into the phone. "Maizy," he cut her off.

"Yeah?" she answered, her voice slightly on the high side.

"It's all right," he let her know.

She went silent for a moment. He had no clue what she was thinking but he just couldn't get the idea of kissing her out of his head.

"Aaron?" she murmured after a moment more.

He shook himself out of his fantasy. "Sorry… uh the reason why I'm calling is Dave decided that he wants to throw a thanksgiving party next weekend at his cabin. Umm… it would be a three day thing, leave on Friday get back Sunday night. I was wondering if you'd like to join us."

"Me?" she questioned in surprise.

"Yeah, Dave is inviting Bree. And it would just be the team plus significant others," he explained. And then realizing what that sounded like he went on to hastily add, "Oh and hopefully Jack's aunt, too…" He paused, waiting for her to say something which she didn't. "It's just a friendly get together… nothing more."

"Friendly," she echoed. "Hmm…"

He wasn't getting much off her other than hesitation. He wondered briefly if maybe asking her was a mistake. He wasn't her boyfriend, though he was starting to feel like saying no to her date request had been a big mistake. He was just her friend; it had been a while since he'd had a friend of the female variety not from his team and maybe friends didn't ask other friends to go away with them for three day weekends in the woods.

He hesitated and then asked, "Is it weird that I'm asking you this?"

"Weird?" she practically squeaked out, almost causing him to laugh. "No, no, of course not."

"Maizy," he prompted.

She let out a nervous laugh. "Ok, a little."

He smiled. "I just thought we're friends… and the team really seemed to like you. I honestly didn't think about anything but spending a fun weekend together." A lie. "You don't have to say yes. But I'd be happy if you came."

He heard her take in a shaky breath. "Ok."

"Ok?"

"Yes, I'll go. A little fun couldn't hurt," she said. "Um so you said it's a three day thing?"

Hotch was completely floored by her easy answer. He'd seen her as someone who didn't like to get out of her comfort zone and yet here she was agreeing to a weekend trip away with him. Ok, not with him, he reminded himself. With the team. It showed her trust in him.

"Yes," he answered quickly. "Dave's cabin is big, but we'll have to share rooms."

"We will?" she inquired, her voice once again squeaky.

Realizing how that had sounded, he quickly amended, or tried to at least, what he'd said. "I mean not us, of course. We wouldn't be sharing… um I've got Jack… um you'd probably be sharing with Bree…Sorry." He closed his mouth abruptly, only she had the ability to bring out his inner awkward Reid.

"No worries," she replied. "So, Friday school's done at noon. But, we've got staff meetings until two. Think it'll be ok if I don't leave here until three-ish?"

Smiling again, a thought suddenly came to him. "It's fine. In fact, why don't Jack and I drive you up with us?"

"Oh, I couldn't," she protested.

"Maizy we're friends. Just think of it as one friend helping another," he assured. He wasn't quite sure where that offer had come from, but he sure hoped she'd accept.

"All… right, thank you," she said after brief consideration.

"Good," he said, more than pleased. "I look forward to Friday."

"Me too."

"I'll see you then."

"Bye, Aaron," she finished sweetly.

He hung up the phone, leaning back in his chair, a feeling of pure contentment settling over him. And it was all because of Maizy. He was definitely heading towards some dangerous waters. He needed to tread very carefully; one false move and he was in danger of falling in head first.

* * *

Maizy hung up the phone; she stared at the receiver in wonder. The phone call had come out of left field. And yet, at the same time, it hadn't. She'd suspected something going on with Aaron during the barbeque when he talked to Spencer—

_Oh God, Spencer_; she groaned out loud. How was it going to look to him when she showed up at the team thanksgiving with Jack and _Aaron_. Not friendly, surely. Crap, what had she been thinking? _Not about Spencer, that was for sure._

"Damn it," she cursed, just in time for Bree to walk in.

"What's wrong?" her friend quickly asked.

"Oh nothing, I just forgot something pretty important," she said in a rush. "You're still here?"

"Yeah, I wanted to see if you wanted to have dinner with me so I can tell you the big news."

"Big news?"

Bree hopped up onto a desk, her short legs swinging in the air. "Oh all right, I was going to tell you over dinner, but… Dave invited me to a thanksgiving thing with his friends this weekend!"

"Oh, that's great."

She must have not put the right amount of enthusiasm into her words, because her friend eyed her incredulously. "That's _great_?" she echoed. Still she went on, practically beaming, "It's at his cabin. He's got a cabin, you know?"

"I heard," she answered distractedly.

"You heard?"

_Uh oh._ Bree looked at her suspiciously and Maizy had one last fleeting thought about keeping the invitation to herself. But, what was the point, everyone would find out eventually.

"Mm hmm… Aaron just called me. He invited me. We're going, as friends, of course…" she replied.

"_Aaron_ invited you?"

"As friends," she added hastily.

Bree let out a low whistle. "I think you and Aaron might need to look up that word in a dictionary." She hopped off the desk and started looking around. "I'm sure you've got one around here somewhere."

"Bree!" she said in exasperation.

"What?" She stopped looking around to instead stare at Maizy intently, making her feel uncomfortable. Almost like she'd done something wrong. "You and Mr. Hotchner sure have a strange friendship… What about Spencer?"

"What about Spencer?" she found herself repeating defensively.

"Don't you think he'll want to ask you?" Bree asked pointedly.

"I don't know," she replied awkwardly, wanting nothing more than to change the subject.

Bree blew out an exasperated breath. She opened her mouth to continue but, thankfully, the phone rang just then.

This time she took a second to look at the number. "Oh God…" she murmured.

"Who is it?"

"Spencer…" she said slowly.

"Rain check on that dinner then." Maizy glanced up to see her friend smirking as she made her way towards the door. She gave her the best glare she could muster in return. "See ya."

She watched her leave, gulping down her trepidation. He was probably just calling about the date. Yes. She couldn't wait for that.

She picked up the phone and answered warily, "Hello?"

"Hi Maizy, it's um Spencer," he said sounding shy.

"Hey," she exclaimed, cringing at how forced she sounded. "You're back!"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" he asked, perplexed.

She felt like hitting herself up side of the head just then. Why did she feel guilty all of the sudden? "Umm… just a hunch… are you calling about our date?" She felt the need to steer the conversation. "I can't wait."

"Yes," he said cheerfully. "But first, I had something else to ask you."

_Crap!_ "Ok…"

"Um… Dave is having…" She listened to him explain the event, like Aaron had, with hope in his voice. And then he asked what she was dreading. "So, would you like to go… with me?"

She took a deep breath. She wouldn't lie to him. She'd just explain it how it was and she was sure he'd understand that she and Aaron were nothing more than just friends.

"I'm actually already going," she began.

"Oh, did Rossi already invite you?"

"No," she paused. "Aaron did." She went silent at that, making her wonder where her well thought out explanation had gone.

"Oh?" Spencer replied, sounding strained.

"He asked as a friend," she added quickly, but it sounded lame even to her ears.

"I see," he said flatly. She didn't know what to say to that so she waited for him to go first. "Is there… is there something going on between you two? The way he was acting at the barbeque… If there is, I'll understand."

_Oh God,_ she mentally groaned. Alyssa's words came back to her. She _was_ hurting him.

"No, Spencer," she rushed to fix things. "We're just friends, that's all." Though, maybe they did need to check out a dictionary, she admitted to herself. "He just thought I'd like to join you all and um… have some fun. That's all, I swear."

She didn't know what more she could say to convince him without sounding even guiltier. So she waited to hear his thoughts.

"Ok," he finally said, sounding resigned. "If you're sure…"

Was she? "I'm sure," she added, a twinge in her gut said the contrary. But she'd have to be. She said she'd give him a chance. And Aaron didn't see her that way anyways. "I'm looking forward to seeing you… on our date."

A pause and then he replied, "Me too. I mean, I'm looking forward to seeing you too…"

"So," she asked tentatively. "We're good?"

"Yeah, we're good," he assured.

They finished off their conversation with setting their date for Thursday night, two nights from today.

She honestly couldn't wait. She admittedly had feelings for Aaron, but she liked Spencer too, and spending time with him was something she looked forward to.

"Can't wait," she finished.

"Me either…"

* * *

Reid stepped into the conference room early the next morning. He was the last one to arrive. He hadn't slept well and had managed to miss his alarm clock, too.

"Sorry," he murmured to the group gathered there. He took a seat knowing all eyes were on his disheveled state.

He looked up and his eyes met Hotch's almost immediately. The older man's eyes were filled with concern for him. The sight caused his annoyance with his boss from the night before to flare up once again and turn to irritation.

Reid wasn't one to anger easily. It took a whole lot to do so. But it suddenly felt like his boss and friend was jerking him around and he had no idea why.

"Yeah…" he suddenly began speaking, obviously cutting off Hotch. "I was up late talking to Maizy. We're going out Thursday."

The room was pretty silent at that. He'd never divulged so much personal info without teeth being pulled first. It didn't matter about everyone else's reaction; he only cared about one person's.

He looked to Hotch, but the man looked away, busying himself with the papers in front of him.

"Good for you, Spence," JJ said from his right, giving him a friendly pat on the arm.

"Yeah." He nodded his head. "I also asked if she'd come to your thanksgiving weekend, Rossi. You know what she said?"

"No, what?" Morgan asked outright, suspicion in his voice.

Surprised, Reid glanced at his best friend to see him eyeing Hotch warily. _He knows,_ Reid figured.

Reid turned his eyes back to his boss. "She said she'd already been invited."

"By who?" Blake asked, looking around the room.

Hotch suddenly looked up to meet his gaze. That he looked apologetic didn't do anything for Reid at the moment.

"I think we're done here," Hotch ordered quickly. "We all know what we're doing today. I'll brief Reid."

The room remained silent and motionless, everyone unsure of the sudden tension surrounding the Unit Chief and genius.

"All right, my pretties," Garcia announced colorfully as she stepped into the room. "Here are the files—" She stopped midsentence, looking around the room. "Ok, who died?"

Morgan was the first to come out of his trance. Casting an uneasy look at him and their boss, Morgan stood up, ushering her away. "Baby girl, nah uh."

"But… but…" she sputtered.

Everyone followed the pair out, but not before all giving Reid a questioning look. Soon, all that remained in the BAU conference room were Reid and Hotch.

Once they were all gone Reid tried to re-catch his eyes, but the older profiler avoided eye contact steadfastly. Avoidance from the master of confrontation, that surprised him.

"You and Blake will be doing the Hartley consultation. I've already arranged for you to do the interview—"

"Hotch," Reid boldly interrupted.

In all the years Reid had known and worked for Aaron Hotchner, he could honestly not remember a time where he'd sought out a confrontation with the man. But, even though Maizy had assured him the two were just friends, he still needed to hear it from Hotch.

Reid liked the young school teacher. It'd been awhile since he'd felt this way about someone other than an author of some classical book. Maizy was cute and sweet and somehow when he was around her he didn't feel so out of place, like he did in most of his everyday interactions. But, all this would be for nothing if she and Hotch already had a thing.

Hotch let out a sigh, finally glancing up. "Look, Reid, when I invited Maizy I honestly was just thinking she'd enjoy some time with the team…"

It was an answer to his silent question, but somehow Reid didn't think that that was all there was to it.

"Are you sure you don't have feelings for her?" he blurted out.

Hotch's eyes widened quickly, almost imperceptibly, but enough for him to catch it. It made his next words harder to believe. "She's my son's teacher. We're just friends."

Reid remained silent for a moment considering the order of his sentences. Emphasizing that Maizy was Jack's teacher before saying they were just friends, it was almost as if he were saying they were just friends because she was Jack's teacher. If that was all that was holding them back, then what would happen the day she wasn't in that position anymore.

Hotch, catching on to the wheels turning in his head, let out a weary sounding breath. "Look, she's a really nice girl, Reid, pretty, attractive for sure. But, we're just friends, that's all."

That didn't really explain away his fears, but the conviction in Hotch's voice was pretty convincing.

Hotch, seemingly being done with the conversation, got up to leave the room. Reid continued to sit there, considering it all.

"Reid," he heard from behind him. He turned in his seat to see Hotch watching him with hesitation. For a minute, he thought he was about to recant everything he'd just said. Instead, his next words surprised him. "Maizy is a sweet girl, she's… vulnerable. She's never told me anything… but I get the feeling something… bad has happened in her life…"

Reid's eyes widened. He'd gotten that inkling too, especially when she'd called him that night she was in Berryville. She had seemed desperate for some outsider connection. But it seemed that Hotch had more than just an inkling.

"Just… be careful with her… all right?"

"I will."

* * *

Well that's it for this chapter. If you thought this one was a bit of a roller coaster, than you're in for quite a ride in the next chapter. I really can't wait to get that one out, this one was just a prelude to all the fun (read: drama) in the next chapter.

Anyways, I hope you're still enjoying this one.

Thanks to all who have been reading and to those who have been reviewing: **nebula2** _(nope it isn't wrong, I enjoy writing a jealous Hotch for sure.);_ **jekkah** _(yeah, she and Hotch both are. :) );_ **Ecda** _(Get ready for some Rossi meddling in the next chapter, though, I'm pretty sure it's not what you think it will be);_ **Guest** _(don't worry, I'm torn too, lol)_; **and crazykelly101.**

I really wanted to get the next chapter out before Thanksgiving; don't think that will happen though, so I'm aiming for the weekend. Here's hoping.

Note from Chit Chat On Author's Corner:

_**Don't forget to vote in this year's Criminal Minds Profilers Choice Awards on Chit Chat on Author's Corner forum. Time is running out. Only ten more days left! Check out the final voting ballot over at Chit Chat on Author's Corner.**_


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Hey all. So sorry for the wait, I had meant to get this chapter out a long time ago but couldn't find the time to put it on paper. Anyways, here it is, part one-ish of their thanksgiving weekend. Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 14:**

* * *

Glancing at the clock on her classroom wall, Maizy saw that it was nearing two-thirty. Aaron would be there to pick her up soon. She had just come from her weekly Friday afternoon staff meeting and had a little time to complete her week-end activities. So, as quickly as possible, she went about those tasks. But, admittedly, she was more than a little distracted.

Last night was her first date with Spencer and he'd been on her mind on and off all day. Now that she was essentially on her way to seeing him again, their night together was forefront in her mind.

Spencer had taken her to the National Museum of Natural History. They'd seen many things but they'd spent the majority of their time seeing two things. The first was the limited-time Charles Darwin exhibit. How he had known that she'd been dying to see it, she had no clue. It was like he could read her mind. Smiling to herself, she reasoned she'd just add mind-reading to his repertoire of magician skills.

Once again she was put in mind of how easy it was being with Spencer. When she was with him al her problems seemed almost non-existent, including how she had feelings for not only him, but Aaron, too. Her feelings for Aaron were definitely far from her mind when her evening with Spencer came to a close.

* * *

_The moon was high in the sky as she and Spencer walked up the short walkway to her home. Her hand was firmly in his; she liked the feeling of his somewhat rough skin against her soft hand. Sometime during their museum tour, earlier tonight, he'd surprised her by taking hold of her hand. It had begun with a fluttering brush of his fingers against hers and then a moment later his fingers were around hers. At first it had felt strange. Maizy had shied away from human contact for about half her life. But soon, she settled into the contact, her feelings of warmth for Spencer helping that feeling along. _

_And honestly, as they had gotten out of his car and joined on the sidewalk in front of her house, she had been the one to take his hand this time. If she were going to be with him, she'd decided soon after the debacle with the whole getting asked to go to Rossi's cabin by Aaron that she'd give this thing with Spencer, tentative as it was, her all._

_Reaching her front door, they turned to face each other, all smiles. She could get used to moments like this with the young genius. She really was beginning to be open to the idea of them as a couple._

_Thankfully, from the look on his face, Maizy had succeeded in conveying how much she wanted to be with him that night. Ever since their last conversation, she'd been worried that he'd come to realize just how damaged she was and drop her quickly. He hadn't, which made her think she was covering up her anxieties over the night pretty well. And hopefully she'd made up for her blunder at accepting Aaron's weekend invitation, too._

"_I had a great time tonight, Spencer," she said to him, grinning happily. "I had no idea you were friends with Dr. Cook."_

_She was in awe of his friendship with the lead scientist in the Global Genome Initiative—a project headed by the museum to collect and preserve fifty percent of the Earth's genomic diversity in the next five years. It was a pretty awesome undertaking, one she'd been following closely. To get a glance at the behind-the-scenes effort—it was the second thing they'd spent much of their time tonight seeing—was like a dream come true. And it was all Spencer's doing._

"_Yeah, he was one of my favorite professors. We stayed in touch after I finished his genetics class," Spencer offered._

"_How long ago was that?" she wondered out loud._

_Smiling, she watched him do that thing with his fingers that he'd done the first day they'd met, math on his fingers. "Uh…" He opened his eyes. "Thirteen years ago."_

_Her smile faltered for a millisecond. It wasn't easy to forget that he was a genius, especially when he could recite from memory the entire detailed scientific history of the theory of evolution to date. But it was easy to forget his extraordinary upbringing._

_Still, she didn't want to clue him in to how astonishing she found his unorthodox education to be and in the process make him feel strange. So she went on quickly, turning the conversation on to the pleasantness of tonight's events._

"_Thank you, again. Tonight was just…" she breathed out, thinking of their time walking through the hallways, laughing and talking. "…wow."_

_He laughed nervously. "I hope that's a good thing."_

_After the museum, he'd taken her to a small Italian restaurant that happened to be very near her neighborhood. The food had been delicious, the setting cozy. They had continued their conversations from the museum in the intimate surroundings until it was time for the restaurant to close. The staff had been very kind and they watched them leave with a knowing look that had her turning pink. Was it that obvious to the strangers around them how much they liked each other?_

"_Yes, it's a good thing," she said laughingly. "Believe it or not, I can't remember the last time I had such a good time. It's been a while."_

_A thoughtful frown came over his face. He looked deep in thought for a moment, like he was searching through his own memories for something. "For me, too," he finally said._

_She looked at him wonderingly, seeing something else there besides his genius-y, sweet, awkward self for the first time. Maybe she wasn't the only one with a shady, hurtful past._

"_So," he said, considerably brighter than a moment before. "Would you um… like to do this again? Well, not exactly this again… but um… something similar… another date—"_

_Maizy chuckled warmly, covering his lips with the tips of her fingers, having the strong urge to put him at ease. His eyes widened at the gesture, just as surprised as she was by her forwardness. "Yes, Spencer. I would love to go out on another date with you. I um… like you."_

_She blushed brightly, but it was the truth. She really did like him. Dropping her fingers, she could see that the smile on his face had also disappeared; it was now replaced with an intense, considering look. She knew what he was going to do before he did it and strangely the idea of it did not have her shaking._

_When he leaned forward and pressed his lips to her cheek, lingering there for a moment so that she could smell the slight hint of the spice of his cologne intertwined with the aroma of coffee, her heart beat quickened, so much so that she felt she could get lost in the sensation. The realization that her reaction wasn't out of fear but out of want for him to kiss her was startling. Up until recently, the thought of being kissed had been a bit of a fear to her._

_Now, feeling his lips soft against her skin sent tingles through her body and had her wishing they'd fallen slightly more towards center._

_When he pulled back a moment later, she saw that he was blushing, too. She was sure they were matching shades of red, as this was new to both of them, it seemed. _

"_So, uh… I'll see you this weekend, then…"_

"_Yeah…"_

"_Maybe we can talk about our next date?"_

"_I'd like that Spencer," she said genuinely._

_And then, with parting good byes, he was off._

* * *

Maizy let out a whimsical sounding sigh. He was an incredible guy. Arranging the museum tour, dinner, the kiss… it was just all so sweet. Spencer was surprisingly good at reading her.

"I think the plant says 'uncle'," a voice came from behind her.

Startled, water splashed from the watering can she was holding up across her sweater. When had she even picked it up, she didn't know.

Turning around, she saw Aaron standing in her classroom, staring at her in that considering way of his. "Sorry," he said. "The office called up, but you didn't pick up. Seems like you were pretty deep in thought."

She blushed uncontrollably, averting her eyes. "Um yeah…" was all she could manage to say.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his expression had changed into something she couldn't read. She quickly turned away so he was out of sight.

There was no reason for her to feel guilty about spending an evening with the young doctor. And yet one look at Aaron had her feeling that way. She wondered if this feeling would be ever present whenever she was around the two men. She sure hoped not.

"You ready to go?" he asked from behind her.

"Um yeah," she answered, wishing she could get more than those two words out of her mouth. She began to grab her coat and bag, but the feeling of her soaked red sweater distracted her. The heavy material would take a while to dry. "Just a sec…" She peeled off the sweater, her back still to Aaron; she had a pink t-shirt on underneath that would do until it dried. "Ok, I'm ready."

She turned back around, coat in one hand, bag in the other. She saw his eyes travel the length of her body, focusing on a patch of skin that became exposed at her waist when she'd pulled off the sweater. Instead of making her nervous, the way his eyes ran over her had her heart racing. She cursed her body's traitorous reaction and clenched her coat to her chest.

Noticing he looked suddenly taken aback, she realized her gesture had come off as protective. And she guessed it was, she was protecting herself, but not for the reasons he probably thought. She nearly groaned out loud at what he was probably thinking.

_Why was nothing easy around this man?_ she wondered to herself, frustrated.

Keeping his distance, he gestured for her to lead the way and she wordlessly followed.

* * *

Hotch drove towards Jessica's home in complete silence. They were going to pick up Jack and his aunt and the four of them would drive up to Rossi's cabin together. He knew having Jessica there would make the gesture of driving Maizy up more friendly and less romantic, but he couldn't help feeling disappointed at the same time that their time alone together would soon come to an end. Especially since they'd hardly said anything to each other since entering his SUV.

He knew the awkward silence was all his fault. He'd made her feel uncomfortable back at the school. He hadn't been able to stop himself from taking in just how radiant she looked that day.

When he'd come upon her, she'd been lost in thought with a look on her face that conveyed the good mood she was in. He liked seeing her that way, happy. And then when she'd pulled off the bulky sweater to reveal the curviness of her body, the smooth skin at her waist, well… he hadn't shown his gentlemanly-ness or his friendliness in that moment.

_Should I apologize?_ he thought to himself. _Would that make things better or worse?_

Just as he was about to open his mouth, Maizy cleared her throat. He glanced her way to see that she was smiling at him nervously. "So," she began slowly. "Jessica was Jack's mom's sister?"

He noted the 'was' in her curiously asked question. _So she does know that Hailey passed away._ "Yes, Jessica was my ex-wife's, Hailey's, sister."

"Ex-wife?" she said with some surprise. "You two weren't together when she um—" She cut herself off abruptly, looking completely flustered. "Sorry, I—"

"It's all right," he assured. Shaking his head he went on. "No, we still cared about each other, but we just fell apart… she wasn't a fan of my job."

"But you save lives… she didn't like that?" The look on her face told him that she was truly confused.

"Oh no, it wasn't that. Working for the BAU… we don't exactly keep the usual hours. I was away a lot. I _am_ away a lot."

"I see," she said slowly. "But I would think the good you do would outweigh that. But still…"

He gave her a wry smile. "Just wait until Reid has to leave in the middle of dinner or something and you'll see…"

"Oh," she said, blushing profusely. "We've only gone on one official date so far…"

Hotch took his eyes off the road once again to see that she was now looking straight ahead. She'd started the conversation, he knew, to diffuse the awkwardness, but now it was suddenly back.

"You don't have to do that," he said abruptly.

"Do what?" She threw him a confused look.

"Feel weird about talking to me about Reid…" he blurted out, somewhat surprising himself. "It's all right…"

Was it? He'd been trying to convince himself of this fact ever since the strained conversation they'd had in the BAU conference room. It was obvious that he'd crossed a line with Maizy in Reid's eyes and ever since then he'd been trying to tell himself the same thing. That asking her up to the cabin had been wrong and not friendly whatsoever. But of course, it was easier to tell himself these things when he wasn't in her presence.

"Reid's a good friend of mine… and I'm hoping you and I can have that too… so if you two are _together_… then I'm obviously going to hear about it… I don't want things between us to become weird every time his name comes up…"

He was saying all the right words, but saying them and meaning them were two different things. Maizy gave him a shrewd eye, like she could see right past his words and into his soul.

She let out a sigh. "Spencer and I… we had one date… I had a great time, but we aren't together…"

Hotch let out the breath he'd been holding when she started speaking. But she wasn't finished, not yet.

"Um… yet, that is…" she added.

Sitting at a red light, he glanced over to see her watching him warily. He held her dark eyed gaze, wondering why it hurt to hear her say the words even though he'd known it to be the case. He'd known that she and Reid were headed for some kind of relationship together. But why did hearing it said out loud trigger hurt inside?

"I see…" he said slowly.

He could see the pain in her eyes too, but whether it was because he and she weren't together or for hurting him, he couldn't figure out.

"Aaron, I—" she began just when he started, "Maizy—"

They both stopped as abruptly as they began. He gestured for her to go first, but she looked reluctant suddenly.

"It's uh… green…"

He glanced up and saw that the light had changed. Letting out a sigh he drove on, they were one turn away from Jessica's house and the two of them remained silent until he pulled up to the front of his ex-sister-in-law's home.

The silence that followed the turning off of the ignition was even more deafening. He turned his body to face hers. She was looking at him unsurely.

"I don't know what to do," he confessed to her.

So totally confused by his own emotions, he wasn't exactly sure what he was confessing to.

Her eyes widened at his brief show of vulnerability. "Aaron…" Her hand reached out towards him, but to do what, he wouldn't find out. Because, the sound of a door opening and a child's laughter had them jerking upright immediately, searching for the source of the commotion.

Jessica stood in the doorway to her home, her eyes on him in knowing sort of way. Jack was already attempting to open the back door.

Without any words he stepped out of the car, thinking, _Time to face reality…_

* * *

"I'm not saying anything else, Morgan," Reid said in annoyance.

"Oh, come on, you haven't told me anything at all," his best friend protested.

Reid moved away from his friend, searching through a rack of plaid-flannel button up shirts. He wondered briefly if he could pull off the look. He began to search for his size as a way to evade Morgan's gleaming, prying eyes. "Not true. I told you where I took her and what we did and that we had a great time. What more do you want?"

Morgan let out a snort. "Those are just surface details… what I want to know is did she sigh your name when you kissed her good night…"

Reid blushed furiously at his words, a reaction he knew his so-called best friend was probably looking for. He turned away abruptly trying to hide his face.

The thing was he'd wanted to kiss Maizy, very much. But, at the last second, he'd hesitated and kissed her cheek. It was still very nice, but it had left him wanting more.

"She did, didn't she?" Morgan exclaimed; apparently Reid hadn't hidden his red cheeks well, or maybe it was his silence that had Morgan guessing that he had indeed kissed her.

Still, Reid walked away quickly towards the aisle that housed fishing rods, hoping to lose him at least until he got his face under control. No such luck.

"You kissed her!" he heard from behind him.

Reid turned around, not meeting his friend's eye as he mumbled, "I kissed her on the cheek…"

"Who did you kiss on the cheek?" came Garcia's exclamation and Reid's mortification was complete.

Both he and Morgan looked up and down the aisle for their quirky friend but couldn't see her. They shared a perplexed look until Garcia came lumbering around the corner, hampered down with a bunch of gadget-y looking items in hand.

"Baby girl, what is all that?" Morgan asked, momentarily distracted by the sight of Garcia.

Reid took a moment to breathe a sigh of relief, hoping the attention would be off him now. He hadn't meant to let it slip that he and Maizy had shared a kiss, innocent as it was. But, he'd hoped the info would now get Morgan off his back.

"This is stuff for the weekend," she replied as if it were obvious. She held up a long pole like item. "See, this is a trekking pole, it's for uh trekking and stuff… and this…" She held up a box that read Jerky Curing kit. "… is so we can make our own jerky. We won't starve with this thing, for sure."

"Garcia," Reid felt like he had to jump in. "Rossi said we didn't need to bring anything."

Despite Rossi's cabin being pretty well stocked with all the modern conveniences, it being in the woods put Garcia in the image of it being completely backwards. She had insisted that the three of them check out the local Bass Pro Shop before picking up Emily at the airport.

He quickly found out though that it was a mistake to have spoken, because Garcia's brown eyes were zeroing in on him once again and they had a manic gleam to them.

"Who'd you kiss?" she demanded.

Reid rolled his eyes. Served him right, being accosted; after all, he _chose_ to keep the company of the two nosiest people in the BAU…

"No one," he mumbled, beginning to walk away again.

"Maizy," Morgan offered helpfully.

"Maizy!" Garcia exclaimed. "Hotch's Maizy?"

Reid cringed at hearing her referred to like that.

"Penelope," Morgan spoke warningly. "She's not Hotch's anything…"

"But… but…" Garcia sputtered. She stopped abruptly and Reid could just imagine the censuring look Morgan was giving her.

He let out a sigh, turning around to clear up this entire fiasco of a conversation. "Maizy and I went out…" he confirmed for Garcia. "… on a date, Thursday. We had a great time, and I kissed her on the cheek."

"Oh," Garcia replied, looking speechless.

She hadn't been around for his date proclamation he'd given just before talking to Hotch the other day. And Morgan had ushered her out of the room when she'd noticed the uneasiness of the situation. So, she hadn't known about Reid liking Maizy.

"But, I thought the boss-man liked her?" she asked innocently.

_Hotch. Again…_ "Hotch told me they're just friends," Reid said quickly. When Garcia made to speak again he cut her off, not feeling like taking any more questions. "Can we just get out of here?"

The truth was. He'd had a wonderful time with Maizy the other day and they were going to do it again, sometime soon he hoped. He didn't need his two friends putting doubts in his mind and tainting the whole night for him.

No. Reid would choose to remember how well they fit together; especially as they walked towards her house together hand in hand.

* * *

Well that's it for this one. Next chapter will definitely be at the cabin and we'll get a bunch of cabin fun stuff. I hope to have that chapter up soon.

Thanks to everyone who's been reading. And double thanks to those who have taken the time to review: **jekkah** _(lol. Hope this chapter puts everyone in a better light. Next chapter might make you feel the same again, though…);_ **Guest#1 **_(thanks for reviewing for the first time, I appreciate it. Tried my best to postpone thanksgiving no such luck. Lol)_; **Guest#2** _(Major drama is coming soon. :) )_; **2amWritersClub** _(lol. Hope this chapter calmed you down a bit);_ **EnlightenedElementalWarrior** (_maybe, who do you think would win in a fight Reid or Hotch? lol);_ **nebula2** _(Bree's Christmas present to Maizy will definitely be a dictionary);_ **kate** _(yay, another for Team Hotch!);_ **Ecda** _(Reid has little to no experience with girls, so I did want him to come off sort of like a teenager in his anger. I thought that would be natural. And yeah, Hotch totally is fooling himself, he'll realize it soon enough);_ **and Guest#3 **_(nope didn't give it up. I'm just a horrible updater. Lol)._

Anyways, once again thanks for reading! And hope to have more up soon.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Hey all. Sorry for the wait. I've had this chapter planned out in my head since thanksgiving, but putting it down on paper has been tough. I hope it's come out all right. And I really hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 15:**

* * *

Hotch reached across the kitchen table, grabbing for a blue crayon; as he did so, he glanced at his two companions. Both Jack and Maizy had their heads bent down over their white pieces of paper. He smiled warmly at the sight of twin concentrations. He went back to his drawing of his ideal Oceanside view, content in the moment.

They'd reached the cabin, sans Jessica—she had a few other things that needed doing before she could join them—and had found no one there yet. After a long car ride, half filled with Jack's chatter, the other with long silences when Jack drifted in and out of sleep, they arrived at the cabin and the two of them had shared a bewildered look. He had been sure that Rossi had told them to be there late afternoon.

And then, as he stood there, he realized: _Rossi! This had to be another one of his schemes._ The man had given him the spare key to hold onto earlier in the week. He'd thought nothing of it at the time. Hotch should have known that Rossi always had a reason for doing everything.

So, with an inward sigh, he'd let the three of them inside the spacious cabin and now, here they were, coloring with Jack's crayon's in a companionable silence.

Hotch looked up when he heard Jack scrambling in his seat. He saw that he was trying to gain a better perch by standing on his chair to look over at Maizy's drawing.

"Mrs. Tibbs, what'cha drawing?" he questioned her curiously.

He watched on as Maizy gazed at his boy patiently. She had a fond smile on her face as she picked up her drawing and placed it closer to Jack. "See," she began. Hotch leaned over, too, to have a look. It was a picture of a dark haired girl and a man, standing in a boat, on what looked to be a lake. The little girl was holding a long pole and at the end of it was a fish. "This is me when I was your age, Jack."

Jack nodded his head. He reached out and pointed to the man in the picture. "Who's that?"

"That's my dad," Maizy answered. She looked up and met Hotch's eyes. She was smiling but he could see sadness in her eyes, too. "When I was little… he used to take me fishing all the time. It was one of my favorite things to do."

The little boy looked up at his teacher, wonderingly, almost as if he could see her sorrow. Hotch always knew his son was perceptive. "Do you still go fishing with your dad?"

"Uh…" Maizy started; she looked to Hotch again, almost as if she were checking for permission. He didn't say anything, so she went on. "No, my dad passed away a few years ago…"

Getting out of his chair, Hotch was surprised to see his son go to Maizy's side. He gave her a hug around the waist, surprising Maizy as well. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Tibbs… my mom, she passed away too… I miss her. But dad says she's in heaven, watching over me… I think your dad is, too."

Maizy gave Jack a hug around the shoulders, bestowing him with a grateful smile. "Thank you, Jack. I think so, too."

The moment was cut short when they heard the sound of movement and voices coming from the front of the house, in the living room. Someone else had arrived. Hotch heard Morgan's loud voice warring over Garcia's. Jack's face lit up. "Aunt Pen is here!"

He hurried away toward the front of the cabin, leaving Maizy and Hotch alone for a moment.

His eyes were on her instantly, he caught her staring at the picture she'd drawn whimsically. He knew how hard it was to lose someone. Knew the lasting pain it caused. Reaching across the table, he put a hand over hers, to comfort, nothing more. Startled, she looked up abruptly. For a moment their eyes met in silent commiseration, nothing more. But then the moment changed into something else, something heavy and that's when Maizy jerked her hand out from under his.

She began to pull all the paper towards her, cleaning up, as a way to cover up her abrupt reaction.

"You ok?" he asked slowly.

Her dark eyes darted towards him and then just as quickly went back to the table. "Yeah… he passed away a few years ago, I miss him… but, I'm all right."

"What about your mom?" he inquired, realizing he'd never heard her speak about her.

"My mom?" she repeated sharply. She halted her tidying attempt and sat back down in the chair, staring straight at him.

"Yes, do you see her… talk to her?" he questioned.

Maizy shook her head. "She uh… died… when I was a teenager," she confessed.

Hotch noted that she looked distinctly uncomfortable at the mention of her mother. He'd always had an inkling that something bad had happened to her in her past. Now, he wondered if her mother's death was part of it.

"Maizy, if you want to talk—"

"No," she replied adamantly, momentarily shocking him with her furious denial.

"I see…" he said, drawing it out, not sure what else to say.

Her face softened then. "I'm sorry, Aaron… I just… can't."

He met her eyes again. Though the death of her mother happened a long time ago, less recent then her father's death, he could tell that it had affected her a great deal, and still did. He was almost sure that whatever happened to Maizy, in part, had to do with her mother's passing.

The aching feeling he suddenly felt inside wasn't a surprise. Ever since he'd met her, he'd been drawn to the young woman, and part of that attraction was his need to protect her. He wanted to know what had happened to her so he could make it all better. It was a naïve belief on his part to think he could, but it didn't change the fact that a big part of him wanted to try anyways.

But he could see that she wasn't ready to tell him any of it, yet.

"Dad!" Jack shouted from the living room. "Aunt Emily is here!"

Hotch let out a sigh. He really wasn't done talking to Maizy, yet. However, from her closed-off posture, he could tell that _she was_ done with this conversation.

"Want to meet a friend of ours?" he asked instead, standing up.

She gave him a hesitant smile. "Sure, just… I'll be out there in a minute."

He nodded. Walking away, he turned slightly to stare at her back; the need to wrap his arms around her was almost uncontrollable. He held back, knowing it wouldn't be appropriate and that she might not appreciate it either. Hotch wished for the first time that they'd met under different circumstances.

* * *

Maizy continued to sit there, even as she heard the laughter and conversation going on in the living room. Simple coloring had led to some unexpected memories surfacing. Really, when she'd sat down and picked up a crayon, she hadn't intended on drawing a picture of one of her fondest memories. But that's what she'd done.

And talking about her father with Jack or mother with Aaron weren't on her to-do list for the day, either. It seemed the two Hotchner men had ways of getting things out of her without her realizing it.

Sighing a sad sigh, she pulled her drawing out from the pile of papers, placing it on top. Looking down at it, she smiled at the really bad likeness to her child-self and father—she'd never been an artist. Still, she let her finger trail over her father's figure.

God, she missed him. He'd been her rock through the latter half of her teenage years and the first years of her twenties. She had no clue what would have become of her if she didn't have her dad—and Aunt Amanda—urging her to go on with life.

She remembered a time shortly after the incident, where her father had helped her to see that it was ok to move on.

* * *

"_Honey," she heard her dad say, the sigh implied in his tone._

_Maizy looked over her shoulder at her father with a blank stare. He was watching her with such sadness, such hesitancy. She could see him faltering; he wanted to help her but he didn't know how. Maizy, herself, didn't know what he could do, either._

_That implied sigh came out, then; he placed a fishing pole in her hand, having baited it for her. She wrapped her hands around it, but instead of her usual eagerness at casting the line into the water, she let it hang over the side of the boat. _

_Despite the therapy, despite being surrounded by her family, she just couldn't get out of this… funk. She felt like she was moving through the world with a dark cloud over her head, knee deep in murky water. She hated the feeling, but she just couldn't shake it. And, deep down, she thought, did she really want to? Really, her mother was dead because of her… did she deserve to be happy?_

_Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her dad release the line of his rod far out into the distance. After weeks of sitting alone in her room, her dad—home from a tour in Iraq because of her circumstances—had finally decided that he was taking her to their old fishing spot. A part of her had felt ecstatic at the prospect of the trip, she loved their spot. But, it was weighed down by her sense of guilt and overall gloom. _

_Her father took the rod from her hands and threw the line into the water for her before handing it back. He let out another sigh as she just continued to sit there._

"_Maizy, honey," he began tentatively. "I… I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you."_

_She looked at him sharply. "Don't, dad… please…" She did not want to talk about this._

"_No, honey, we need to talk about it…" he denied. "I should have been here for you and I wasn't. And for that I will truly be forever sorry. But… you need to know, I hope you know, it wasn't your fault, you did nothing wrong."_

_That's what everyone kept telling her. A small part of her didn't believe it, though, and she hated that part._

_She shook her head. "I know, I know…" _

But, mom…_ The image of her mother struggling with her stepfather before urging her to run was seared in her mind. She had run away and left her mother there to die. "No, it was my fault!"_

_Her father looked at her with her same dark eyes, they were wide with shock. "Honey," he breathed out slowly. "Amazing Grace…"_

"_No, don't call me that, dad. I'm not amazing. I'm not anything… Mom died because of me," she replied furiously. "She's gone because of me…"_

"_Don't say that, Grace, don't!" She could see the torment she was causing him, plain on his face. Why did anyone want to be around her? _

"_Yes, it was. Mom's gone, mom's gone because of me…" she cried. Tears wet her cheeks; she dropped the fishing rod to the side so she could reach up to cover her face. She was ashamed; she shouldn't be crying, she had no right to feel sorry for herself. Her mother was the one who was dead, not her._

_She felt arms suddenly pull her close. Her dad enveloped her in his embrace, protectively. She couldn't understand it. But, she was too tired to fight it anyways; she let herself be held, like she was a little girl again._

"_Maizy, sweetheart… what happened to you is horrible… no, beyond horrible. It was a crime. Against you! Maizy, you are innocent in all this. You got hurt at the hands of someone you trusted. That is the crime… And your mother… Lucy… she saw that and she tried to save you. Your mother loved you so much. She gave up her life to save you… because you were the most important part of her life."_

"_But she died," she cried into his chest. "She died…"_

_Her father pulled her away from him slightly. Looking into her eyes, she could see his firm belief in her. "It's not your fault. That… that bastard… attacked you and killed your mom. It's all his fault. Don't forget that. He decided to do those things, not you._

"_Maizy, your mom would be horrified if she knew you were blaming yourself. She'd be furious with you to see you not living the life she wanted you live…"_

"_Dad, I don't know… I don't know what to do…"_

"_You need to live your life, sweetheart… It's not going to be easy, but she wouldn't want you to give up. I don't want you to give up. I can't lose you, too."_

_The tears in her father's eyes were unreal; she'd never in her life seen him shed a tear. Her strong, army father never cried. And now, here he was, crying for her._

"_You won't," she breathed out, almost inaudibly._

_He looked into her eyes as if searching for the truth of her words. The relief reflected back at her told her he'd found it. He hugged her closer, not letting go for a good while._

_She'd try, for him, for her aunt, and for her mom._

* * *

"Maizy?"

She jumped up, startled at the sudden voice behind her. She turned around to see Spencer standing there.

"Spencer," she replied, smiling at his presence, glad to see him.

He still looked at her concernedly. He took a few steps towards her; after a moment of hesitation, he took her hands in his. "Hey, are you ok? Hotch said you were back here. Did he say something—"

She shook her head. "No, no, why—" she started in confusion. And that's when she felt the tear on her cheek. Maizy pulled one of her hands from his, reaching up to wipe it away. "Oh… oh this… I was just remembering my dad…"

She stepped away from him, going back to the table. Picking up the picture she drew, she held it up to him with letting out a nostalgic sounding sigh.

"Your dad?" he asked softly. He took the picture from her, staring down at it as if it were an actual photograph.

"Mm hmm… he died in Iraq three years ago… I was just missing him…" she assured.

He looked at her in a somewhat disbelieving way, as if he knew that that wasn't all there was to it. But she didn't feel like elaborating, not to Aaron, and not to Spencer. She had had enough with this melancholy mood for one day. Right now, she was happy to see Spencer had arrived and now all she wanted to do was enjoy the weekend with him.

"It's ok to miss him," he let her know.

"I know…"

At a loss for what else to say and desperately wanting to move past this subject, she said, "Your friend, Emily, is here?"

"Um yeah…" he began sluggishly, as if trying to follow her line of thought. "Yeah, we picked her up from the airport."

"I'd like to meet her…" she said.

"Ok." He led her to the living room, hand still holding onto hers.

They moved into the large, spacious room with the sofa and chair that faced a rustic-looking, stone fireplace, finding several familiar people and one stranger grouped there.

Maizy's eyes immediately landed on the dark-haired woman. She had large brown eyes and an overall pleasant looking face. She laughed at something Derek was saying, her hand reaching out to playfully push the man on the shoulder. Maizy didn't miss the tender looks passing between the pair.

Spencer led them around to stand next to the fireplace, all the seats being taken. Eyes fell on them right away, causing Maizy to feel instantaneously self-conscious. She shifted on her toes, slightly uncomfortable with the sudden attention. She saw Emily's eyes go from her and then to their entwined fingers, lingering there with a look of surprise.

She chanced a glance at Aaron, who was sitting in the chair adjacent to the sofa. His eyes were on them as well, but Maizy couldn't read his face. He seemed… indifferent. She didn't know why she felt hurt at the blank reaction.

"Hey, Maizy," Derek greeted her, giving her a big grin. "Glad to see you could join us."

"Thank you, I'm glad I could, too," she answered politely.

"Maizy," Spencer took over. "I'd like you to meet Emily Prentiss."

Emily stood up and reached a hand across the coffee table in front of her. Maizy took a step towards her, shaking her hand, watching her with a considering look on her face.

"Maizy Tibbs…" she added. "It's nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you."

The woman gave her a surprised looking eyebrow. "It's nice to meet you, too. Now, I'm wondering why I haven't heard about you?"

She turned to outright glare at Morgan, before she shot a quizzical look at Spencer. But when her gaze fell back on Maizy she wore the friendly smile again. "How did you and Reid meet?"

Blushing, she replied, "Oh, uh… I actually met Aaron first." Emily turned to eye the man as well. Her expression turned to one of blatant surprise at what she seemed to find on his face. Maizy couldn't tell what it was, though. "I'm Jack's teacher…"

"She's my favorite teacher," Jack piped up; he was squeezed in between Morgan and the armrest closest to his dad.

"Oh… so you met Reid through Hotch, I see…" Emily said slowly, like she was attempting to solve a perplexing riddle.

"Yeah," she replied, unsure of what was going through the brunette's head.

"Well, I've picked out mine and Kevin's room," Garcia announced loudly, coming into the room, from the stairs leading to the second floor. Spotting the gathered group, she suddenly exclaimed, "Maizy! Yay, I'm so glad you made it."

Before she could reply, Derek was saying in a mock long-suffering tone, "Baby girl, you know we're supposed to wait for Rossi to tell us which rooms he's put us in."

"Tough! This one's perfect. It's got a large king-sized bed, perfect for when Kevin and I—"

Aaron lunged over to cover his son's ears. "Garcia!" he scolded.

"What?" she asked innocently. "I was just going to say it's perfect for when Kevin and I set up our computers so we can play Age of Empires III."

The room laughed at the innocuousness of her reasons for wanting the bed. Aaron let go of his son then.

"What's so funny?" the little boy asked uncertainly.

Maizy let out a sigh, chuckling slightly. "Nothing, Jack, just grown-ups being strange…" She made a bit of a face that Jack copied before dissolving into giggles. She reached out a hand to him. "Come on, why don't we go draw some more pictures until everyone else arrives?"

He jumped out of his seat, where he'd been wedged in between Derek and the armrest. "I'd like that, Mrs. Tibbs…"

She stepped away from Spencer and took the little boy's hand, walking towards the back of the place, back to the kitchen.

She heard Emily question the room, "_Missus_?"

* * *

Later that night, Maizy sat curled up at the end of the sofa closest to the adjacent chair that occupied a silent Aaron. A cup of hot chocolate sat half-drunk on the coffee table in front of her, while a stack of her student's work sat in her lap. She felt warm and content sitting there, in a way she never thought she could feel outside of her own home.

Dave had gone a long way into making everyone feel welcome. Assuring everyone was comfortable with their rooms and roommates for the weekend. She hadn't been assigned a room with Bree, like she'd initially thought she'd be. Apparently, her friend would be sharing with Dave, a fact that caused her to smirk at her friend happily. Instead, she would be sharing with Alex Blake. Maizy had met her briefly at the barbeque, she was nice and not in the least bit overwhelming. She thought that they'd get along quite nicely.

With Dave's arrival, though, he'd brought along a bit of a surprise. Not just for her, but for everyone, it seemed.

He and Bree had been the last to arrive; something Emily had hinted at was done on purpose. According to her, the older man wasn't above making extravagant or dramatic entrances. Somehow, that bit of info fit Maizy's image of him.

But, the surprise hadn't been his lateness. It was that, along with Bree, he'd brought another woman. A stunning, blonde haired woman, in her mid-thirties, Maizy would guess. She had piercing, bright-green, cat-like eyes, that when turned on you, you felt momentarily like prey beneath them. They probably came in handy in her everyday life, Maizy mused, as a prosecutor. She could only imagine the secrets she got criminals to confess to under her gaze. She shuddered, feeling uncomfortable at the woman's—Vanessa Mead—intensity.

Brought out of her thoughts by the sudden feeling of someone dropping down onto the sofa, she tuned to her left to see that Bree had decided to join them. Her friends brown eyes landed on the pile of spelling tests before her.

"Maizy, what are you doing?" Bree asked bewilderedly from the other end of the sofa.

She gave her a look that said, 'what could you possibly mean?' A look meant to bug her friend. "Marking," she replied innocently.

Her look and nonchalant tone did the trick. Bree put her head in her hands, swaying it from side to side in disbelief. A chuckle came from Maizy's right and she looked up to see Aaron, clearly amused, by her and her friend's antics. "Any chance I can get a hint at how Jack did?"

"Haven't got to his, yet," she let him know.

Aaron waved a hand for her to get on with it, eager to find out his son's progress. She chuckled, going back to marking the various words.

It was then that Vanessa, seemingly dressed for bed already, in a black, lacy slip no less, slunk over to sit on the armrest of Aaron's chair. Did the woman know that his son was just in the other room playing with another young boy? Talk about inappropriate.

It wasn't a surprise that she'd chosen to sit there, next to Aaron, instead of the empty seat between her and Bree. Ever since she'd arrived, she'd practically hung off of Aaron's arm, inserting herself wherever he was.

"I don't know how you do it," the woman commented dubiously to Maizy.

"Do what?" she asked, containing her irritation.

Maizy wasn't a person who judged people right away or even disliked people in general; cautious around new people she was, but she usually didn't form an opinion about them right off. Vanessa was turning out to be a special case.

"Deal with those little brats," Vanessa said laughingly. "I mean… they're so needy and clingy. I'll take a psycho murderer any day over a kid…"

Aaron looked up at the woman next to him, giving her a quizzical look. "Really?"

She gave him a large smile. "Oh, yes."

"Vanessa, have you met Jack, yet?" Maizy questioned conversationally.

"Jack? Oh, that little boy that was running around here incessantly?"

"Yep. He's one of my student's, darling boy…" she let her know, meeting Aaron's eyes mischievously.

"If you say so, dear," Vanessa replied. "The thing I want to know when it comes to children is where's the off button?"

"He's also Aaron's son," she added, ignoring her comment.

Vanessa looked at Maizy in shock and then down at Aaron in horror. "He's. Your. Son?"

"Yeah," Aaron answered, giving her a proud look. "Isn't he adorable?"

Vanessa, looking completely embarrassed, replied, "Oh yeah, he's… such a sweetheart… darling, just like she says… I'm uh…" She stood up abruptly. "I'm uh… going to…"

And then she backed away out of the room.

Maizy and Hotch shared a look before sharing a little chuckle.

"That was mean, you guys," Bree scolded. But, she, too, had a smirk on her face.

"What was mean?" Spencer asked, suddenly appearing. He took the last seat between her and Bree.

"What they," she pointed at her and Aaron, "did to that poor woman."

"What did they do?" he wondered out loud, shooting Aaron a suspicious look.

She looked to Aaron and then turned slightly so her body faced Spencer. "Nothing nice. You're right, Bree, that _was_ mean. I should go apologize."

Maizy made to get up but Aaron's hand on her arm held her there. "You don't have to. You just told her the truth. She's the one who decided to voice her dislike of kids…"

She gave one nod. _Yeah, still…_ Maizy had a feeling she'd done what she'd done more out of her feelings of jealously at Vanessa's obvious pursuit of Aaron, than because of her crass comments on children. She'd find her later and make sure to apologize, she vowed.

"I missed something, didn't I?" Spencer asked from her side. She gave his arm a pat, letting him know without words that it wasn't important. Instead, he went on to ask, "What are you working on?"

She held out her stack before him to show what they were. "Spelling tests. I gave it to the kids today."

"Want some help?"

She smiled at him. "Sure." She handed him half the pile.

Spencer took a look at the list of words. "You've got some ambitious words here for nine year olds," he commented.

"I do," she agreed. "The kids like the challenge and I've got a few students who really are up to it. The real difficult ones I put on for bonus marks."

"Hey, maybe we can think up a few for the next spelling test?" Spencer suggested eagerly. "I think ebullient is a good word. It means to—"

"—overflow with fervor, enthusiasm, or excitement. I know," she finished for him, enjoying his stunned expression. "Hmm… maybe I'll work it into our lessons next week."

"It could also be used to describe boiling liquid. You could use it in science class, too!"

Bree leaned around Spencer to eye Aaron, interrupting their eager collaboration. "I think they're about to go over our heads," she joked. "Maybe we should see what the others are up to?"

Maizy looked from her best friend to her new friend, realizing they'd momentarily left them behind in the conversation. Aaron was smiling fondly at her. "I think you're right, Bree." He reached out and gave Maizy's hand a warm squeeze. "I'll talk to you later," he assured.

She watched him go with Bree, knowing that some of the others were gathered in the games room, playing cards. Maizy had chosen to sit by the fire with her cup of hot chocolate to gather her bearings. Even though the people who were all invited to Dave's cabin were real nice, she still found it awkward with such a big group of people.

Turning back to face Spencer, she was taken aback by his frown. "He likes you, you know?"

She grimaced back. "I know. That's why we're friends."

He looked like he had more to say, but instead went to work on her students' quizzes. She watched him a moment more, wondering if he saw the affection she felt for Aaron. She'd been trying so hard to mask it, to let herself only feel what she felt for Spencer. After all, she had feelings for him as well.

Without even knowing, she'd obviously slipped up and Spencer had noticed.

* * *

Hotch rubbed at his eyes, attempting to get the remnants of sleep out of them. Something had jolted him awake, but at the moment he had no clue what it was. Jack lay next to him; he was sound asleep, pretty much in the same exact position as he'd fallen asleep in. It hadn't been his son who'd woken him.

Sitting up in bed, he silently cursed his light-sleeper-ness. He'd been that way ever since Foyet had attacked him in in his own home. He couldn't help it; the littlest thing could wake him.

Wide awake now, there was no help for it; he stood up and tip-toed towards the door. He decided he'd go to the kitchen and see if there was any truth in warm milk helping you sleep.

As he made his way down the stairs, he thought back on their first night at Dave's cabin. It had gone well. He'd been able to control himself around Maizy, be more reserved, which was good. He'd even left the two of them alone, despite his want to stay by her side. That was a nice gesture.

After that, he'd made his way to the games room and found mostly everyone gathered there. He'd even gotten the chance to speak with Vanessa again, letting her know that he felt no ill-will towards her, despite her views on children. She even seemed like a nice person when she wasn't trying too hard.

Hotch saw a light on in the kitchen and wondered if someone else was awake. He stepped inside and saw Maizy sitting there, back to him. It was only then he realized that he was clad in his striped blue pajama pants and a thin undershirt. He thought about turning back before she noticed him. But she turned around just as he was about to go.

She eyed him carefully with her large, dark eyes and long dark hair hanging over one shoulder— as opposed to its bun from earlier. She was in her pajamas, too, a light pink tank top and black shorts. She gave him a tired smile.

"Aaron," she said in surprise. "I hope I didn't wake you…"

He shook his head. "Nope," he replied, knowing it was probably a lie.

She didn't catch it though. She held up the mug in front of her. "I couldn't sleep… I'm not really good at sleeping in new places…" she confessed.

He went to the fridge, grabbed the milk and poured some into a pot on the stove. Then he took a seat next to her as he waited. "Couldn't sleep either…" he let her know when the silence extended too long.

She nodded, still remaining quiet. She was looking down into her mug in contemplation; something was most definitely on her mind. Tentatively, she shot him a look, but when she saw him watching her she looked away quickly.

Instead of pushing her, he continued to sit there quietly. When his milk began to boil, he got up to prepare his cup. Back to her, he heard her let out a sigh. He smiled slightly; she was about ready to give. Taking a sip, he decided it needed some sugar, only then did he retake his spot by her side.

"You and Vanessa seemed to be having a good time tonight…" she suddenly spoke up, letting the sentence trail off.

He mentally smiled. So, this was about Vanessa? He glanced to his right, seeing that she was watching him expectantly. But, once again, when his eyes met hers, she darted her glance away. She was like a skittish deer, he mused to himself.

"You two really hit it off, huh?" she continued. "That's good, I'm um… happy for you…"

Truthfully, he hadn't known she'd seen them together. And he hadn't known that the sight of him talking with the prosecutor would have this effect on Maizy: _jealously_. It was purely unintentional and yet her response pleased him deep down. It meant that she cared in some way.

He decided to leave her hanging for a bit.

"How was thanksgiving in Berryville?" he questioned instead. Her eyes widened at his choice of subject. "I know you said it was fine… but you called me?"

She nodded slowly. "I did… but I… I talked to Spencer. I was fine after."

"Fine after what?" he didn't relent.

She let out an annoyed sounding sigh. "I love my Aunt Amanda and my family. But I hate it there," she said vehemently. "That place… it has a way of exposing memories I want to leave buried…"

"Like…" he prompted. It was the first time he'd ever pushed for an explanation as to what had happened to her. The first time he'd figured out that something was up was at the bar. Then, she'd been in need of comfort and reassurance and he'd given it to her. But tonight, he needed to know what happened.

Instead of answering, though, she shook her head, hanging it low so he couldn't see her face.

"Maizy," he breathed out. "You can tell me…"

He trailed off when he saw her shake her head emphatically. "I'm sorry," he heard her say. "I'm just not ready to talk about… _it_…"

She finally lifted her head to meet his eyes. There was such sorrow there; he wished he could take it away. But he couldn't if she didn't let him in.

Her expression changed, became more closed off as he watched her. And when she opened her mouth and spoke he was surprised at the words.

"So, Vanessa… you like her?"

He held back his sigh as he held her gaze. He wished she'd let him in.

As it were, she had nothing to worry about when it came to Vanessa. And he would let her know that. "She's a nice enough woman. Pretty. Smart. We've got a lot in common. I was a lawyer, too, you know?" he started.

"Oh…" she prompted, eyeing him curiously.

"But, you heard her, she doesn't like Jack. And I couldn't ever be with anyone who didn't adore kids like you do, Maizy," he went on.

He couldn't help himself then; reaching a hand out to cup her cheek, he rubbed his thumb across her smooth skin. It was a wonder she didn't know how he felt about her. That he really liked her.

"She's nothing like you. Not even close. You're smart and kind. You're beautiful inside and out. And you really care about Jack. You're the kind of person I'd want to be with… you are the person I want to be with."

She looked at him with her big brown eyes, mouth slightly agape. He'd shocked her big time. He'd even surprised himself. Hotch had had no intention of admitting that to her. It had just come out. But it was the truth.

Without really thinking, he found himself leaning towards her, tilting his head slightly to the right. Her eyes watched his every move. He could hear her breath coming faster now. She was frightened, he could tell, but she wasn't pushing him away either. She gazed at him with half-lidded eyes; he watched them move from his eyes, to his lips, and back again. She wanted this. And so did he.

He closed the distance between them slowly; tentatively, he pressed his lips to hers. Touching her soft lips felt exactly how he imagined heaven to feel. Warm. Soft. Golden. Home.

When she didn't pull back or push him away, he pressed closer to her, placing his hands on her arms as he moved his lips against hers. She matched his rhythm, kiss for kiss, not faltering for a moment. When his tongue swept across her mouth, she gasped at the touch, parting her lips. The palm of her hand came to his chest, pressing there. For a millisecond he paused, believing she was about to push him away, but when she didn't he took that as a sign.

Hotch moved his tongue into her mouth, across her own, deepening the kiss. The intimate touch was more than he'd ever hoped for. He took it slowly, not wanting to push her into more than she was ready for.

When his hands started to go around her, wanting to hold her close, she suddenly wrenched her lips from his. The hand at his chest pushed him back, then. And she stood up quickly.

"Maizy?" he said in surprise, voice hoarse. He stood up to follow her, but she turned her back on him.

"No, this… this isn't right…" she murmured.

She wouldn't meet his eyes. He needed to know if he'd hurt her in some way. Taking a step towards her, she put her arm up, urging him to stop.

Finally, she looked up at him. Her expression said it all. She was torn, unsure, scared. And he'd caused all that.

"I care about you, Maizy," he said in a voice that sounded like he was pleading with her.

Again, she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Aaron… but you were right; we have to think about Jack…"

He gave her a small smile, pleased with the fact that she continued to think about his son first. "Jack adores you. I'm sure he'd be all right with us…"

He took another step towards her, but she continued to hold a palm out, keeping him away. "Spencer, then… he likes me and I… I like him, too. I have to think about him."

At the mention of Reid, Hotch suddenly felt like a bucket of cold water had been dropped over his head. What was he doing? What had he been thinking? Hadn't he agreed to back off, for both Jack and Reid's sake?

He let out a sigh and ran a shaky hand through his hair. She was right. He didn't like it. Didn't want her words to be true. But he had to let her go.

"I… I'm sorry," he stumbled.

Her expression softened then. "Don't be… I uh… I kissed you back."

He didn't know what else to say. The kiss had felt so right. But it had been… so wrong. He'd betrayed Reid's trust.

"I… I should go… Good night, Aaron," she said speedily, and then she turned on her heel and began her retreat. She started down the dark hallway, but she wasn't far in when he heard her exclaim, "Oh, sorry…"

He started towards her, wanting to know what had happened, but someone was suddenly standing in his way.

"Hotch, man, you've got to be kidding me," Morgan exclaimed brashly.

_Crap! Morgan…_ he thought quickly. Of all the people to practically walk in on them, it had to be Morgan. It couldn't have been worse. _No, it could have, if it were Reid standing here…_

"What?" he replied defensively.

"What do you think you're doing kissing the girl?" he continued. "I thought you told the kid that you two are just friends?"

"We are," he protested.

"Then what was that?"

Hotch turned his back on the man, not liking the disapproving look he was getting from his subordinate, even if it was probably totally deserved.

"I don't know," he murmured. "I slipped…"

"Hotch, Maizy isn't some drug you get addicted to. She's a woman… who shouldn't be played. And she's the one Reid has a thing for… At least one of you had the sense to think about him. I thought you were going to back off?"

"I was," he shot back. "I am…" He turned to face his friend, taking the disappointed look full on.

"Well, I hope you remember that the next time you two are alone," Morgan replied. "Because, you two are definitely playing with fire."

Not wanting Morgan to get the wrong idea, he quickly assured, "It was all me… Maizy pushed me away. She… likes Reid, too."

It hurt to repeat her words, but he had to accept them. He'd turned her down and now it was Reid's time. He had to accept that.

Morgan nodded his head once, turning to go. But before he was gone he had some parting words: "You need to figure out if losing Reid's friendship, trust, and respect is worth pursuing Maizy…"

Reid was one of his best friends. But Maizy was like light made into flesh… she was hard to resist.

But he would. For Jack. For Reid. And for Maizy, too.

* * *

So that's it for this chapter. So, how many TeamReid fans want to throw pitchforks at me? lol. Don't worry, there'll be some great Maizy/Reid scenes coming up soon, at least one in the next chapter. My plan now is to have a few Hotch-lite chapters as Maizy's relationship with Reid progresses. Who knows how that will go… still not planned that far. But, I hope you're enjoying this truly triangular story.

Anyways… just wanted to say a quick thanks to anyone who's been reading and thanks to my three reviewers: **jekkah** _(how much do you want to kill me right now?);_ **nebula2 **(_I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter. I had a lot of fun writing the Morgan/Reid/Garcia scene. They're a lot of fun to write__**)**_**; and 2amWritersClub** _(Hope you enjoyed this chapter; I know it wasn't very nice to the Team Reid-er's… There will be more Reid friendly chapters to come.)_

Thanks again! Hope to update soon!


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** Hey again! And again, sorry for the wait. I've had parts of this chapter planned out for a while and wanted to _perfectly_ get it down on paper, it's my curse of being voted Most Meticulous one at my ninth grade graduation. Lol. Anyways, this is far from perfect, but I promised an update a long time ago, so I thought I'd get this one down and out. This actually the first part of the chapter I'd originally planned, which was supposed to include some Maizy/Reid goodness. That's been pushed to the next chapter, so it's still coming. And so, I do hope you'll still enjoy this chapter and that you'll let me know what you think. Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** I still, sadly, do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 16:**

* * *

Maizy glanced at her tired looking reflection in the mirror as she pulled her dark hair into a high ponytail. She hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before and this early am start wasn't helping matters much. She let out a sigh, remembering her reasons for her sleeplessness. _Aaron…_ She couldn't help the wistfulness at the thought of the tall, dark, handsome man.

_He kissed her…_

She touched her lips, watching herself in the mirror of the vanity table, startled by the longing look in her eyes. She couldn't forget how good it felt to be touched by him. Maizy hadn't been kissed in a very long time, but she couldn't remember it ever feeling this good in the first place. She didn't think anyone could kiss as well as Aaron.

She shook her head. What was she thinking? _I like Spencer. He likes me… We could be good together…_

Maizy was surprised at how quickly the thought of Spencer put her at ease. Was her heart really that fickle? Could she really just swing both ways… one minute pining for Aaron, the next content with Spencer? She had no clue what was wrong with her and it frustrated her to no end.

Unintentionally, she let out a frustrated groan. Alex suddenly appeared in the mirror, standing behind her. She had forgotten that she wasn't alone in the room.

"You know," the older woman began. "I give pretty great advice, if I do say so myself…"

Maizy's brown eyes widened in surprise. "Uh… I'm all right, thanks."

Alex held up her hands, backing off with a smile. "No, I get it. You don't know me very well. That's all right."

Maizy turned in her seat, seeing Alex ready to leave their shared room. She was right; they didn't really know each other. But, Maizy's impression of the woman was that she was a kind, non-overbearing, and maybe more than a little… wise woman. She sure hoped the woman was wise; she could use a little non-overbearing wisdom right now.

"Uh, Alex," Maizy suddenly poured out, surprised to find herself talking.

Alex turned around at the door, that same kind smile on her face. She waited for her to speak.

Blushing brightly, she looked down as she spoke. "Do you… uh… do you think it's possible for a person to have… uh feelings for two people at once?"

"Feelings? What kind of feelings?"

She looked up to eye her with large, deer-caught-in-the-headlights eyes. Opening her mouth several times to tell her, she found it difficult to get the words out.

"_Ah…_ romantic feelings, am I right?" she asked with a knowing smirk.

Maizy blushed once again. She couldn't meet her eyes.

"Well," Alex began, coming to sit on her bed. "Literature throughout the ages is full of the proverbial 'love triangle,' where one man or woman is torn over two people they apparently love."

"But, those are just stories," Maizy scoffed.

"Every story comes from a bit of real-life truth, Maizy," Alex continued gently. "To answer your question, yes, I think it is possible to have feelings for two different men at once."

She let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. She was glad to learn that she wasn't abnormal in this. Still, she had more questions.

"Do you think that makes me a bad person?" she questioned, slipping from the hypothetical.

Alex smiled. "No, I don't. It just makes you human." Maizy nodded in understanding as her roommate made for the door again. But, Alex hesitated there. "Listen, Maizy, it is possible to be drawn to two people—"

"But," she prompted when she stopped abruptly, uneasy at the sudden worried look on her face.

"_But…_ I believe that there is always one you feel more strongly toward than the other," she let her know. "Maizy, Reid is a really sweet guy," she went on, her face softening at the mention of Spencer. Maizy's own face grew bright red. "And Hotch is a good man—"

"Aaron!" she exclaimed in surprise.

_Does everyone know? _She sighed; apparently she wouldn't be winning an Oscar anytime soon.

"From what I know they've both been through… quite a bit," Alex added.

She assumed she meant the death of Aaron's ex-wife. But she had no idea what she was referring to in regards to Spencer.

"Just… treat them right," Alex warned gently. "All right?"

Maizy gulped down her unease. "Of course," she assured. "They're both… amazing. I don't want to hurt them. I won't."

"Sometimes what we want and what we get are out of our control…" She exited the room then, leaving her with those parting ominous words.

No, she wouldn't do anything to hurt either of them. She wanted this thing with Spencer, whatever it was… And Aaron agreed that Spencer was what mattered now; he too was thinking of him. Aaron might like her, but she knew a great man like him would easily find someone to care about and vice versa. He would be all right. She had to believe that.

* * *

Hotch let out a groan as Jack pulled him to the living room. Apparently their thanksgiving weekend wasn't just about hanging around in a cabin being thankful, there were activities planned too.

He'd yawned through Jack's explanation of what was going on, so he had no clue what he was being pulled towards. He'd also slept through breakfast, which was just as much of a side effect of his late night meeting with Maizy, as it was a way to avoid the pretty school teacher as well.

He really had no idea what to say to her in the light of day. His actions the night before were borne out of complete selfishness. Hotch hadn't cared about anyone else's wants other than his own when he'd kissed her. Not Jack's. Not Reid's. And not Maizy's.

_But, she kissed you back!_ a voice in his brain implored. _What was that about?_

_It doesn't matter,_ he argued with himself. _She pushed me away in the end._

And that was that. She made it clear to him that Reid was who she wanted to be with. And he needed to respect her wishes and stop messing with the poor girl.

Jack's hand was tugged out of his grip. He looked down to see his son hurry away, joining Henry who was standing with two other people, Reid and Maizy.

Despite his claims that he needed to leave her be, he immediately zeroed in on her. His eyes took in every inch of her, dressed in workout-ware—black leggings that ended just below the knees, a fitted purple t-shirt, and runner clad feet. It made him wonder what they were about to do. He still had no idea.

His eyes met hers a moment later; he could tell that she'd spotted him before he'd seen her. She wasn't hard to read that morning; he could see it in her eyes and in the way her cheeks took on a pink hue, she was remembering the night before. And instantly he was taken back to the way his lips felt against hers as they moved against each other in sync, how she hesitantly tasted him when he slipped his tongue across hers, while he tasted her in turn. God, he'd give anything to kiss her again, to touch her, to—

She broke their gaze, looking down at the floor, a furious blush on her cheeks. _Oh God,_ he let out a small groan. How was he supposed to control himself around her now that he knew what it was like to be so close to her?

He watched her subtly move to Reid's other side to, he realized, hide herself from his view. And then he groaned again; he'd have to control himself if he didn't want to be the one to frighten her like he did just now. He was such an idiot, he concluded.

He watched on as Reid looked at her concernedly. He bent his head close to ask her something. Maizy shook her head, clearly uncomfortable.

And that did it, Hotch let out a sigh. Clearly, he wasn't fit to be awake yet; he turned around to go, pretty disgusted with himself at the moment, only to come face to face with a suspicious looking Emily.

"Going to take a cold shower?" Emily questioned him.

He shook himself from the surprise he suddenly felt at being caught out and put on his stoic Unit Chief face. "I don't know what you're talking about, Emily."

Hotch made a move to move around her, eager to get out of there, but she continued to block his way. "What I'm talking about is the way you were looking at that poor girl, Hotch. Like you wanted to eat her. Real subtle, by the way."

He chanced a look over his shoulder to see Maizy's fingers now entwined with Reid's. "If you're talking about Maizy, we're just friends."

"Yeah… friends, sure," she replied knowingly, an infuriating smirk on her face.

Not deigning that with a response, he finally managed to squeeze past her, only to be held up again.

"Hotch, come here," he heard Dave's voice call.

He turned to see everyone gathered there suddenly, with Dave and Morgan facing the rest of the group. He wished he had a clue as to what was going on. Why, oh why, did he get out of bed today?

Dave gave him a questioning look, as if he was trying to figure him out. Hotch was getting tired of everyone trying to, or actually getting into his business.

All eyes on him, he couldn't brush his best friend off without it looking suspicious like he wanted to. So, with a great feeling of trepidation he made his way over to them.

"Yeah?" he said tentatively.

Dave clapped him on the shoulder. "You and Morgan are our team captains."

"Team captains?" he echoed.

"Yep! Bree and I organized a scavenger hunt. You two are my picks for team captains," Dave explained. "And it's time to pick teams. Morgan goes first."

His brain wasn't functioning very well that morning. Lack of coffee, combined with lack of sleep, plus his confused feelings were making him slow. So… they were having some kind of scavenger hunt and… apparently he was a team captain, which… meant he had to choose players? He thought he had it about right.

Eyes open, Hotch still felt like he was watching everything through a haze. Morgan glanced at him, giving him a look he couldn't decipher before announcing his first player. "I choose Maizy."

Having an excuse to look her way, he found her just as surprised by Morgan's choice as he was. She glanced from Reid to Morgan and back again. When it appeared that Morgan wouldn't take back his choice, she slowly came forward, one hand clasping the elbow of her other arm, and stood by his friend.

"Hotch, it's your turn," Dave's voice cut through his musings.

He once again glanced at Derek to see him giving him a smug sort of look. It hit him then, that choosing Maizy was deliberately done, sort of taking her away from him. The sentiment initially angered him, but then he saw it through Morgan's eyes, keeping the drug out of the addict's reach, so to speak. It made sense.

"Jack," he said, believing he had to obviously choose his own son first.

"Aww dad," Jack's little voice piped up. "Can't I be on Mrs. Tibbs' team?"

There were chuckles all around; he had to smile, he wasn't the only Hotchner entranced by her. "All right son, I take it back… JJ?"

The blonde smiled at him too and joined him by his side. Hotch was thankful that she didn't want to abandon him as well.

Morgan didn't waste time picking his next team member. "Reid," he announced.

Hotch watched the young genius beam brightly at his best friend, obviously grateful that he had his back. He joined the pair, instantly going to Maizy's side.

It was a few minutes later when the teams were all sorted out. Maizy, Reid, Emily, both little boys, Will, and Alex on Morgan's team. And JJ, Jessica, Vanessa, Garcia, and Kevin on his team.

"All right, everyone," Rossi declared. "Here's the list of what you need to find. Get ready…"

He handed out the sheets and then proceeded to the front door, holding it open. Apparently this was an outdoors hunt; thankfully, it wasn't too chilly outside.

"Get set, go!"

* * *

Well that's it for this one. Hope you enjoyed. The conclusion of the thanksgiving weekend is coming up in the next chapter and I hope to have that up in the next couple of weeks. April is going to be a busy month so I'm hoping I can have it up before then. We'll see.

Anyways, thanks to everyone who's been alerting this story, and to those who have reviewed this story: **kurussom** (thx reviewing; you make some awesome points! I'm hoping to avoid veering that way with Hotch, cause you're totally right about him); **elliemaeemmerson38 **_(thx for the review + pm, sorry for the wait)_**; Ecda **_(My one Team-Hotch-er, I think, thx for the review! Totally agree with you about Hotch, he's both at the same time, definitely)_; **Gust** _(Guest? Lol. I saw that episode. Yeah, it was shocking, but this story takes place before that happens, so Reid hasn't gone through that… but still, I know what you mean.);_ **nebula2** _(Just to let you know, I've got Hotch hidden safely away, in protective custody, so… lol. I know, he was particularly bad (bad in a good way? :) ) in that chapter, but don't worry, Morgan's got Reid's back and Hotch is going to back off for a bit now.);_ **marcallie** _(hmm… now there's an idea…);_ **2amWritersClub** _(All very good points, Hotch is just very confused right now, he wants her, but knows he can't have her, but then she's there, and he's just muddled… both Hotch and I are thinking about what we've just done :) );_ **and GoReid** _(You make some great points to think about, thanks!)._

See ya guys soon!


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** Hey all! Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 17:**

* * *

Surrounded by trees all around, Reid batted at yet another insect as he walked along the man-made path. Wasn't it November, shouldn't they all be dying out? he wondered. He considered the unseasonably warm weather they were experiencing currently, and the fact that last winter hadn't been as cold as it should have been. He was about to come to a critical conclusion about the insect population when the sound of laughter interrupted his thoughts.

Stopping in his tracks, he listened; of course he could discern the sound of the two youngest members of his scavenging team, Jack and Henry. They sounded like they were really having a good time. That put a smile on his face. This activity was tailor made to the two of them, all the running and rushing and seeking outdoors, he had to hand it to Rossi for organizing it. Then again, maybe it was more Bree's influence, the education assistant that worked with Maizy. Being around children constantly, she'd know exactly what kids liked to do.

Jack and Henry weren't alone, obviously. The forest was thick around Rossi's cabin—something Reid hadn't really realized until walking through it. It was no place for children to wander off on their own, however safe he'd been assured of it being. No, he could clearly hear Will's amused chuckle in the mix. But, it was the fourth, noticeably feminine with its light and airy quality, laugh that had him listening keenly.

_Maizy… _he thought wistfully. She sounded happy, unburdened. He was glad, because only an hour or two ago she didn't seem that way at all.

Reid could remember how just that morning they'd been standing together, surrounded by practically everyone else, feeling the wave of discomfort billowing off of her. He'd leaned in close, asking if she was all right and she'd said that she was, but it didn't take an IQ of 187 to see that she was clearly agitated. And a second after that she was moving close to him and taking his hand as if for protection.

He wanted to chalk it up to all the people around or even her claim that she didn't sleep well in new places, but he had a feeling something else was up. Before he'd had a chance to question her further, the game had begun and the boys had whisked Maizy off.

Reid hoped they'd get a moment alone soon; he wanted to ask her about that, among other things.

Hearing footsteps coming towards him, he turned around to see a winded looking Maizy being dragged forward by two blonde-headed boys, followed by an entertained looking Will.

"Mrs. Tibbs, I think it's this way," Jack exclaimed, pointing off excitedly. Noticing Reid, his tutor-ee greeted, "Oh, hi, Uncle Spencer."

He smiled when Henry echoed the nine year old. And then his eyes met Maizy's. They sparkled as they took him, though, clearly, she was exhausted.

"What are you guys looking for?" he asked, dragging his focus off of her and back to the boys.

"The Golden Dragon," Jack announced "We found lotsa stuff; it's the last thing on the list!"

"Yeah, the boys are real good at finding stuff," Will complimented.

"And running, they're real good at that too," Maizy added wryly as she put a hand to her side.

Will chuckled. "Boys, let's go ahead; I think Mrs. Tibbs needs a break."

Reid watched her give the man a grateful smile as he ushered them off, leaving them alone together.

Breathing out a bit of a sigh of relief, she said, voice full of humor, "Now, I know why they say raising kids is a workout in itself."

Smiling, he pulled out the bottle of water he was carrying in his messenger bag, handing it to her. Without hesitation, she opened it and took a long sip. Reid took the moment to watch her. Her face, shiny with perspiration, the way her throat worked as the water went down it, the glow of her skin under the sunny sky… _God, she was beautiful even when fatigued._

"Thanks," she said, giving it back.

Without thinking, he blurted out, "So, do you want some?"

Her dark eyes shot up to meet his in surprise, unsure at first of what he was asking, and then by the slight grimace on her face he could see she got his meaning. "Kids?" she asked anyways.

Blushing, he answered slowly, "Yeah?"

He watched her carefully as she switched from one foot to the other, bit at her full bottom lip and let her eyes flutter shut for a half a second. It all happened so fast, but he caught it. The question made her uncomfortable, and he quickly opened his mouth to tell her it was none of his business. But, she beat him to speaking.

"Uh… I don't know. I see the kids I teach, Jack… and Henry, they're sweet… and I love my cousin's daughter, Rose… I um… I'm just not sure," she finished.

Reid waited for her to ask him the same question. She didn't. Looking at her face, he saw how much she didn't really want to talk about it anymore.

"So," she said swiftly to cover the awkward moment. "What else do you have in there?"

Blinking his confusion away as he struggled to follow her train of thought, he realized she was talking about his messenger bag. He'd grabbed it as an afterthought, a knee-jerk reaction, but he hadn't missed the frown it'd gotten from Morgan on their way out of the cabin. If it weren't for Emily pulling him away he was sure his best friend would have something to say about it.

As it were, he was glad he'd remembered it. It _had_ come in handy.

Maizy waited patiently for his answer. He unzipped the bag, replacing the water and rummaged inside.

"Uh…" he began. "Sun block, bug spray… a bag of pretzels… oh and Einstein's Theory of Relativity."

A not unkind chuckle burst from her lips. "What?"

"You know, it's the paper that Einstein wrote in 1905 that reconciles Maxwell's equations for electricity and magnetism with the laws of mechanics by introducing some major changes to mechanics close to the speed of light. Using the equations from On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, the actual title of the paper, Einstein later produced the equation—"

"E=mc2," Maizy finished with a smile.

"You've read it?" Reid asked in awe.

She shook her head, laughing. "No, but I did have to take a couple of physics courses for my degree…" Her nose scrunched up at the word physics, reminding him that she was a biologist, a scientist, just like him.

"But, why do you have it with you, here?" She pointed to their general surroundings.

He grimaced slightly. "Truth?"

"Yeah."

"I thought about sneaking back to the cabin and reading it," he let her know.

Instead of rolling her eyes like many of his friends would have done at this point, or chalking it up to 'typical Reid,' she asked, "Not a fan of the outdoors, huh?"

"I'm from Las Vegas, remember?" She nodded that she did. "You're obviously comfortable out here," he observed.

She smiled. "Yeah… my dad used take me fishing a lot; whenever he could get home that was the first thing we did. I loved camping and going out on the lake it was… peaceful…"

Reid remembered the day before when she'd shown him the simple drawing she'd made of her dad and her fishing. He clearly saw that her father meant a lot to her and could see that, by extension of that, being outside in the middle of nowhere meant a great deal, too.

Glancing around his rustic surroundings, the thick brush of trees around them, the dirt path that they stood on, the sound of wildlife in the trees, he could see it as being a peaceful place to be.

"But, you're not, are you?" she questioned, smiling.

"I don't mind waking up to the sound of siren's in the distance," he confessed. He enjoyed noise. Noise had the ability to distract him from the inner workings of his mind, something that he needed every once in a while. To be in complete silence for long periods of time was, for him, nerve wracking. "And you know, I can do without the bugs."

She smiled even brighter then; surprising him by hooking her arm with his. "Come on, by the end of today, I'll have you loving nature as much as I do."

"What are we—" he attempted to ask, giving her a dubious look before she started to pull him along.

* * *

Hotch let out a sigh as he strolled the paths of the woods neighboring Dave's cabin. It was a bright and sunny day, definitely not the norm for November, and he should have been relishing the slight reprieve from their normal climate. But he was too busy being in his thoughts to enjoy the things going on around him. He certainly wasn't playing the game everyone else was playing, just going through the motions until the moment this day was done.

He'd been so excited about this weekend, so looking forward to it. What had changed?

_Kissing Maizy, that's what changed, _he thought to himself.

"You like her, don't you?"

Startled out of his thoughts, he looked around for the source of the voice and found Jessica suddenly at his side. _When did she find me?_ he wondered.

"Who, Vanessa?" He let out a bit of snort of incredulity. Though, he'd found her more pleasant as the day had gone on, he wasn't one ounce attracted to her. "She's not my type."

Jessica shook her head. "I meant, Maizy. She's very pretty, isn't she? And sweet, and—"

"_And_ Jack's teacher," he reminded. He didn't need another person encouraging him to go after the woman. Not when he so obviously wanted her anyways. He knew they couldn't be together now.

His son's aunt shrugged her shoulders. "So? I'm sure she can both teach Jack and be with you too. She adores Jack, I can tell."

Letting out yet another sigh; to quell the coming argument, he lied, "There's a rule at the school. Teachers and parents can't date."

He didn't know if that were true or not, it might have been for all he knew. But, he just didn't want to keep having this conversation, not with Rossi, not with Jessica and he certainly didn't want to keep thinking about it.

He knew now that things had gone too far last night. No matter how much he'd enjoyed it, it had been wrong on so many levels. Hotch just hoped that in the long run it didn't affect his relationship with Maizy.

"That's too bad," Jessica responded. "I kind of liked seeing you with a non-blonde."

She smiled at him, letting him know she was joking. "Come on, I do not have a thing for blondes."

"Really? Let me make a list for you… um _my_ sister," she started as she counted off on her fingers. "That girl in high school before my sister; um Kate…"

She listed a few other women he'd gone out with once or twice after divorcing Hailey. He frowned at himself, yeah they were all blonde. He shuddered to think what that said about himself, that maybe he'd been trying to replace Hailey in his mind…

"Maybe you _should_ go for Vanessa."

"Funny," he noted dryly. "Beth wasn't blonde."

"Beth wasn't right for you, you know it and I know it," Jessica said, wrinkling her nose at the mention of the woman.

She and Jessica had never gotten along; it was a small part of the reason why they'd broken up. Jessica was an important part of his and Jack's life; he needed the woman he was with to get along with her. But, he'd never understood why they'd hated each other.

"What happened with you and her?" he asked now.

"I saw her with a man that wasn't you at a restaurant one night," she said simply.

He shrugged his shoulders. "She's got a brother, maybe that's who you saw."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "If that was her brother than that family needs some major help, if you know what I mean…" She paused before going on. "Anyways, I confronted her and she told me to back off. The next day we were all sitting having dinner together. I should have said something to you, but…"

"But, I probably wouldn't have thanked you for it," he finished. "I'm sorry."

"No worries…" she assured. "I just want to see you happy with someone special, Aaron. And if that's Maizy, then I hope you'd go for it."

"It's complicated," he relented.

"When are things not?"

She was right, of course. But, he just didn't have it in him to hurt Reid. He could see how much the young doctor liked Maizy. He couldn't betray him anymore than he already had.

He shook his head. "I'll find someone when the time's right," he let Jessica know.

She patted his back in understanding and started to walk off. He'd said the words, but at this point in his life he wasn't sure he believed he really would anymore. But that was ok, he had Jack. And Jack was his life.

* * *

Sitting in the living room of Dave's cabin, Maizy gingerly placed an icepack over Spencer's ankle. Through his protests and claims that he was fine, she'd forced him down onto the couch and pulled his leg into her lap, elevating it to help the swelling. She stared down at the swollen skin now, worriedly; she wondered if she should get him to a doctor. For all she knew it could have been broken. She glanced around the silent cabin, there was no one in sight; apparently, they were all still playing the game. She'd have to wait for someone to return.

After she'd told Spencer that she'd show him nature really was wonderful, she'd led him away towards the river that flowed nearby. They'd walked along the edge for a bit; then, she'd shown him how to skip stones along the water, where he'd explained that it was the water molecules strong cohesive forces that created enough surface tension for the small stone to skim across. The conversation then moved on to the types of bugs that used this property to move across water. It was interesting and she'd had a good time.

It was when she'd somehow thought it ok to suggest tree climbing as their next activity that things took a turn for the worse.

She couldn't believe what happened next. It was all her fault, undoubtedly. Maizy had found a tree with low hanging branches and she managed to swing herself up onto one. Spencer looked up at her in awe and wonder and she'd ridiculously encouraged him to climb up next to her. What had she been thinking? From atop that branch, she watched him slip and fall back to the ground, twisting his ankle beneath him. Maizy couldn't get the image of him hissing from the pain out of her mind. She felt awful.

Gentle fingers touched her chin, urging her to look up. She shook her head, embarrassed by her actions, but also feeling extremely bad for what had happened. He didn't relent, though. She finally looked up to see Spencer smiling at her warmly, and all she could do was look back at him through watery eyes. How he could look at her like that, still, she had no clue.

"Hey…" he said gently. "This isn't your fault."

"How?" she lamented. "I'm the one who encouraged you to give it a try. I'm so sorry, Spencer."

He continued to smile at her. When he spoke again she could hear the amusement in his voice. "It's not your fault. It's mine. I'm not exactly an athlete, Maizy. I should have known better… I was just trying to impress you."

Her eyes widened at him in astonishment. "Impress me?" she echoed. "From the minute I met you, you've amazed me. Spencer, you've got three PhD's and two other degrees; trust me, I'm more than impressed."

She watched him look down sheepishly. "That's just my brain. I just… I'm not like Hotch or Morgan… I don't break down doors; I can barely kick a ball…"

Maizy was startled by where he was going with this speech. Did he really think she cared about any of that? Letting go of the icepack, she brought her fingers up to brush along his cheek, getting his attention.

Absently, she leaned a bit closer towards him, his hazel eyes focused on her, watching her intently. "I don't care about any of that stuff, Spencer. I really enjoy spending time with you, regardless of what we're doing. I like you… I care about you…"

It was then that he did something that caught her totally off guard. Spencer closed the distance between them, touching his lips to hers in a chaste kiss. Surprised, she pulled back slightly, only to see him watching her unsurely.

The kiss was so painfully sweet and all she could think of was doing it again. This time, Maizy leaned into him, parting her lips slightly to kiss his. The moment lasted longer, this kiss slightly more heated than the first; Spencer put a hand on her waist, letting it rest their lightly. She was amazed when she didn't pull away, or flinch at the intimate touch. Instead, she liked their closeness, enjoyed it.

"Oh," a stunned voice said, dragging them apart. "Sorry."

Maizy looked up to see Aaron standing there, having returned from the scavenger hunt. Her eyes went to his in shock and he looked… hurt. The guilt she continually felt when she was with one or the other hit her in the chest strongly, knocking the wind out of her.

She opened her mouth to say something, to explain, but words were failing her at the moment.

When his eyes moved down to the icepack on Spencer's ankle, he asked, "What happened?"

Spencer answered before she could even try. "I fell out of a tree," he said amusedly.

"A tree?" Aaron replied confusedly. "You all right?"

Her companion nodded his head. "I'm fine. It's just twisted, I think. Maizy thinks it's worse."

"I think he should see a doctor," she managed to say. "What if it's broken?"

She watched Aaron grimace from across the room, worry creasing his brow. "Maybe I should drive you back, Reid? She's right."

Spencer shook his head. "Don't worry about it. It's starting to feel better already."

Maizy looked to him again; the way he was watching her, it was like she was the reason he was feeling better. Did he forget that she was also the reason why he'd fallen out of a tree in the first place?

"Stop blaming yourself," he told her firmly, giving her a smile.

"Well," Aaron stated awkwardly. "Let me know if you change your mind, ok? I'm uh… going to wash up… See you guys later."

Maizy watched with a heavy heart as Aaron quickly fled the room. She couldn't help but believe she was the most horrible person in the world. Wasn't it only last night she was kissing Aaron?

* * *

Hotch hurried out of that living room as fast as he could. Walking in on the sight of the woman he cared about with one of his best friends wasn't going to make his top ten list of greatest moments ever, that was for sure.

He'd known it was going to be tough letting Maizy go. Even tougher seeing her with another man. But, actually seeing her and Reid, looking all cozy on the couch, _kissing_… it nearly tore him up inside.

Doing this for Reid, keeping his distance from Maizy was going to be a lot more painful than he thought it would be.

Sighing, he leaned against the kitchen wall, taking a moment to compose himself. Opening his eyes, he came face to face with the object of his affections.

"Maizy," he said in surprise.

"Aaron, I… I just wanted to… uh," she stumbled, looking at him with those wide, pretty eyes.

He put a hand up in front of him to stop her. "You don't have to explain…"

Looking down unsurely, she whispered, "I know, I just… I don't know, I feel like I should."

Hotch nodded, understanding. He didn't know what to say. After kissing her the night before, he wanted her more than ever. And because of that it was pretty imperative that he keep his distance, at least to Reid's happiness.

At his silence she looked up to gauge his reaction, he gave her a small smile. "Go back to him, Maizy. He needs you."

She looked up into his eyes and he could see the hesitance there, the discontent at his words as if that wasn't what she wanted to hear. She nodded her head once, and then left him all alone in the kitchen.

Waiting just a moment, he followed her back down the hall, and took a peek into the living room. Maizy had retaken her seat, but this time Reid had an arm around her. He couldn't deny that she was good for the young genius. The smile on his face was unlike any he'd ever seen on Reid.

And it was because of that one thought that he'd keep his distance from now on. Even if it killed him.

* * *

That's it for this chapter. I really hope you enjoyed. I know I enjoyed bringing you guys the Maizy/Reid moments. :) At this point, I kind of have an idea where I want this story to go, but as for final pairings it can still go either way…

Just a quick note: My work situation is changing for the next two and half months. I've got another temporary teaching contract at a high school (yay!), so I'll be busy with that. So, that means updates will once again be slow.

Anyways, thanks to everyone who's been reading and thanks to those who have left me a kind review or pm: **elliemaeemmerson38** _(thx for the pm and review! Don't worry, Hotch isn't completely out of the picture yet);_ **nebula2** _(lol, it's nice to see I've got you on the edge of you seat);_ **Lizzy B** (_yay, another team Hotch-er… um, not that I'm picking teams or anything, lol);_ **TheMysteriousGeek2345; Ecda** _(Hotch's got his own trickser in Rossi, thought it was only fair that Reid had one too, in Morgan. lol thx for the review);_ **Annber03** (_thank you for the awesome review. I really do love Reid, especially in this chapter); _**and kurrusom** (_thx! I'm really trying my hardest to keep both Reid and Hotch in character in this story despite the situation they're in. I hope that's what you guys are seeing)._

Hope to have an update soon.


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